Diary of an Osean Paratrooper
by JohnnyFrost
Summary: This is account of the Osean-Yuktobanian war from the perspective of a soldier in the Osean 79th Airborne Division. Pvt. Damien Klein would become the war's most decorated ground soldier.
1. Augustine

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the planes or anything in the game.

Rated M for language and violence.

This story is for every paratrooper or soldier in general who ever served, or currently serve in any army anywhere in the world at any given time. I salute and thank you. This is my first fic posted here but not the first one I've written, so critique away!

_**Diary of an Osean Paratrooper**_

**Part I: Augustine**

_"There are a crazy breed. Even crazier than me. They volunteered for this...I guess there is such a thing as positive masochism. When and where can I join?" - Pvt. Johnny Allen of the 4th Infantry Division on the 79th Airborne. He and his sister joined the paratroops in December._

The Osean 1st Airborne Corps are amonst the great military groups of all time. Inside the corps are the 13th Airborne Division, the 79th Airborne Division and 34th Air Expeditionary Division. The 79th Airborne Division, the All Angels, is the largest parachute infantry division in the world and have been involved in every major and minor conflict since 1950. The most famous of its ranks During the war of 2010, they too would play a role in the vast drama. It would produce 7 of the 16 eventual winners of Osea's highest military honor, the Seraphim Cross.

Sergeant 1st Class Damien Peter Klein, was one of them. He was one of the many storied figures during the war in 2010. He is married to kind, understanding woman named Jen Klein and a dedicated father. He was, and still is, a member of Bravo Company, 1st of the 117th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment), of the 79th Airborne Division; he was the most decorated ground soldier in the Osean-Yuktobanian-Belkan Conflict, and one of the most decorated of all time with 7 medals, 3 citations, and 5 purple hearts. For two months, his company as well as the rest of the division would earn fame...being called the "The Razgriz of the Ground" by the famous Yuke Commander of the 10th Airborne Corps Jabon Mizzirym, the youngest one star general in history at the age of 31. They would face hardship, heat, bitter cold, and death. He would participate in the longest, bloodiest engagement of modern times, the Rydling Front. Sgt. 1st Class Klein's diary is a keen insight in the mind of the common soldier during the war. It is here, he documents his extraordinary tour of duty. We see his selflessness, his dedication, his response to life and death, and his meetings with the most famous figures of the whole conflict. He was one of the many who believed that the "Ghosts of Razgriz" were in fact the Sand Island pilots. That is because he is one of the very few to have actually met them in person...

_In one particular incident, Klein recalls meeting the famous female ace of the Sand Island Squadron behind enemy lines. He managed to find an abandoned farmhouse to hole up for the night. Later, he was asked:_

_"Do you think we'll be safe here?" asked Captain Nagase._

_"Yeah...just get behind me, because one's getting through this goddamn door!" Klein replied._

September 22, 2010- I've finished jump school. I swear those were the best four weeks of my life. I managed to make all 5 jumps and earn my wings. I started writing this as the first day of the rest of my life as a member of B Company in the 117th PIR. I've been assigned under my former platoon sergeant SSgt Price as my squad leader. He's a good leader and an excellent person to be around. There have been new officers coming in, Lt. Jones runs the platoon. Most of my friends from BCT have been sent to other companies leaving only my best friends the M60 gunners Dave Gordon and Haley Christenson, Andrew Lally on bazooka, and Charlie Seville. Jen, my wife of 8 months, strangely didn't think this whole thing was crazy. Of course, my in-laws thought I was insane. They almost didn't accept me; but they didn't stop Jen. They just act all snooty towards me. I love her...I hate her family. She works the end user support in a computer shop; now that is a job that takes some patience! Regardless, I made the paratroops anyway and she couldn't be more happy for me. I wear these jump wings and the angel patch on my sholder with pride. Life is good right now, there's nothing going on in the world. My home is 10 blocks from the base and I have good friends to make the day interesting. Life can't get much better than this.

September 27, 2010- I watched it all on TV; a war had begun. We saw the bombing of St. Hewlett, the burning waves and ships with people spilling off the decks. It was so sudden. As we watched the gulf burn, I thought about how many people will wake up in homes that won't be full again. Eventually, the attackers were routed, but the damage was already done. The time for complacency has ended. The time for combat training had begun. It was all but obvious at that point. Everyone in the country realizes that our sense of security has been broken. I am at a lack of words.

October 8, 2010- For the last few days, we've been training, drilling, walking long hours, etc. We've been locked up in this base with almost no contact with the outside world. The Yukes have been blitzing us with constant attacks, but they've been turned back. Several air force pilots have become famous up a Sand Island. We may be getting ready for a counter-offensive. We were constantly practicing our skills on simulated missions. We hardly get any rest. One particular operation, one person from each company in the regiment was chosen at random to lead a squad as it were the company. I got picked. Our objective is to capture this particular target in the woods; in this case, a flag. Most of these guys knew this area very well, and since I was from North Osea, my team was at a disadvantage. But, by some fluke we got there first. Our company got to sit out a 15 mile hike in full combat gear as reward.

October 12, 2010- Dave and I ran into an older cousin of his today, 2nd Lieutenant. Jamie Gagne, an air force supply officer at the nearby Blackcreek Air Base. We were talking our sweethearts at one point. Jamie told us he'd just gotten married to his girlfriend of 8 months, Serena. He said she was getting nominated for the highest medal one can get in any branch of the military, the not-so coveted Seraphim Cross. Of course, I say "not-so coveted" since most winners of that award die in the process. It's the ultimate way to say, "I'm insane." He mentioned those "Four Wings of Sand Island" and how she helped out in that battle…said she single handedly sunk a Yuke destroyer in that huge battle at Sand Island. The leader of the Sand Island squadron had given her the nickname "Lady Kamikaze" and that's her new call sign. Then I thought about what D'Angelis said. He was a chauvinist of sorts; believed women shouldn't fight on the front lines. In fact, it's only been 2 years since women have been allowed to fight in the infantry. I don't care. Anyone who puts their life on the line is worthy of my respect regardless of gender; in fact, to say they shouldn't is sort of….presumptuous. Of course, the air force has it easy; all they have to do is push buttons.

October 14, 2010- I've been trying to keep in contact with Jen, but it's hard with all the relentless training. She's been behind me 100, and that's why I love so much. We were briefed about an invasion into Yuktobania by Captain Thompson, B Company CO. However, I can't say much about it though. The intelligence was incredible; I was surprised how fast they got this. Then again, it's 2010.

October 15, 2010- I could only tell Jen that we're going into combat soon, but I couldn't divulge the invasion info. D-Day for "Operation Footprint" was November 1. What an inane name for an operation. "Operation Blood Scissors" would be a good name or maybe "Operation Midnight"?

We were going in first. 5 hours before four infantry divisions land at Bastok. Now the officers are training us harder than ever. I trust the Captain's judgment. He'd seen combat in the war 15 years ago. I was only 8 then. We were updated with more information about our objective. Lt. Jones told us that we were going to take 2 villages and the city of Vijrundi…in a single day. With that done, the 11th Armored guys can roll up. Dave didn't really like Jones. We privates respect the NCOs more. We're all together in the pits drilling, running miles, and getting dirty. The officers never made much of an attempt to relate to us. They were good leaders though.

Haley is the most foul-mouthed person on the planet. She says the word "fuck" in the form of a noun, adverb, or adjective just about every other sentence. D'Angelis gets on our fucking nerves…great, now I'm doing it. Lally seems to get a kick out of this whole fucking thing. I'm filled with every fucking feeling now….and it's only one and half weeks away. Thank you Haley fucking Christenson for being the best platonic female friend a guy could have. Everyone's so fucking awesome here. I mean, we all did this because we want to be the best, most dedicated, motherfuckers in the whole damn army. The Yukes are going get quite the wake up call.

October 17, 2010- I described the scene of activity here to Jen with these exact words: poetry in motion. All the planes flying over us, the people training, the ships at sea were awe inspiring. Then it occurred to me that I was only a small microscopic part of this thing. I caught a glimpse of that mighty aircraft carrier, Kestrel. That must be one cramped place. Andrew has a friend on that ship, Argyle his name was. He was a WSO(weapon systems operator) on a F-14. The pilot, Snow I think he's called, leads the squadron.

Some guys were taking lessons in Yuktobanian. I knew the language and the rural dialect perfectly. The officers keep giving us quizzes and stuff on Yuke equipment, customs, etc. It's really annoying. I wish November would hurry up and get here.

October 21, 2010- We got a break from training today, and got a visit from the big man himself, General Howell. The whole regiment was in full uniform out there on that field, all 1,484 of us. I had never been so nervous in my life; however, he had nothing but positive things to say about us. Our regimental commander, Colonel Lavitz also greeted us. It was more of a surprise as we were on the firing ranges demonstrating our talents for the brass. The Colonel selected 8 people from the company to do the target course, me being one of them. No one scored below 30, with 40 being the highest; I scored 38. He told me I was a "damn fine shooter, son." I simply replied, "Thank you, sir."

October 25, 2010- Only 6 more days until the invasion and everyone's getting antsy. It forced me to cope with why I joined. I joined to defend this country. I joined because I felt in debt to the country that's been so good to me. I didn't join to kill the enemy, but I _will_ if I have to. "You do what you're told and you'll live to see another day in combat." said Captain Thompson or something to that effect. Training is mostly over, now it's about reviewing our objectives. We have to memorize every single objective of every platoon in the company. I'm looking at those C-130s right now. I remember Haley saying that they were "The Airborne Limousines". Perhaps they were. However, we're probably going to be under heavy fire. I remember there were some people around Fort Augustine today. They were ordinary people, just looking in from the outside before they were shooed away by base personnel. I can't forget the look of depression on their faces. I wonder who's family that was?

October 26, 2010- The whole regiment participated in a parade today in Sierra City. Most people had tears in their eyes. Some people were like, "Give 'em hell!" Some were singing that ridiculous song "Journey Home", I'm so tired of hearing that song. I think everyone was out there. I know Jen was out there somewhere, but there were just so many people. They all had our backs, just like we troopers had each others'. It was incredible. We marched from Fort Augustine to Black Creek AFB to prepare for the invasion. Our spirits are high and everyone has the full confidence in ourselves, our fellow troopers, our equipment, and our leaders. Not so much faith in the other branchs like the Marin...nevermind.

October 28, 2010- I spent most of today writing out a will and one last letter to my wife "just-in-case". I can't believe it, a will. We started marshaling at Black Creek Air Base and we've been staying in tents outside of the base. Dave ran into his cousin again, and we also met his new wife, Serena. I think she drunk too much coffee that morning. She is probably the most gregarious and bubbly officer I ever met. But she had sort of a flip attitude. One minute she's all cheery, the next she's all business. This is especially true in the plane, at least that's what the Lieutenant said. At least her laugh wasn't annoying. We got to see her plane, an F-16. It was quite a nice piece of hardware. They're going to be flying escort for us on the drop. For some reason the weather changed from really nice to really nasty rain. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

October 30, 2010-Well, this is it. The long awaited day has arrived. I only got 2 hours of sleep last night. I've just been lying awake thinking of nothing else but what I was going to do in combat. I share a tent with Dave, Seville and Pvt. Peter van Obierk of second squad. Van Obierk's always humming show tunes and such. These are the people I'll be with in combat; the only people I can trust other than myself. We're the most dedicated soldiers in this whole army. Jen told me she got into a little "discussion" with a Marine wife over who's tougher. It was rather silly, she admitted. They went out for a cup of coffee later. The Marines and the Airborne have the biggest rivalry. However, that is of no consequence now. I have no regrets. Everyone else looked like death's hand was on their shoulders. This may be my last entry. I just hope I can make it to the ground. I just want to jump; if I get killed afterwards, I won't complain. All the people in our town, Moonwater, are having this huge prayer service for us. In three hours, I will be apart of one the largest military operations in modern times. With all this stuff we have to carry, I hope we don't go down in the water. Our main job other than taking Vijrundi is to cause confusion amongst the enemy. This operation has been kept pretty secret. I don't think the Yukes are gonna expect us...

I just want to make it to the ground. Whatever happens after that...just...happens.


	2. Rollling Thunder

**Part II- Rolling Thunder**

_"We're just rolling along. The enemy seems so defenseless...well, not entirely. But we're gonna make it. As long as Leah and can drive this thing well and the Lieutenant keeps telling me where to shoot...we'll be all right."-Sgt. Leo "Scorpio" Saccamano of 11th Armored Division after the battle of Vijrundi. Saccamano and his fellow crew were the first Armored Division members in 40 years to win the Angel Cross. Unfortunately, Lieutenant William "Willy" Davis would not live to see it after he was killed at Cruik Fortress._

November 2, 2010- I have survived my first hours of combat. Yet there is still so much more to do. As we traveled to Yuktobania, all 15,000 of us in the 79th Airborne we were at low altitude. We got the signal to stand up and hook up. Then rumbling...we could hear flak guns, hundreds of them. There were some planes flying around outside fighting with other planes. I couldn't tell ours from the enemy planes though. I saw a plane holding some of 3rd Platoon get hit. Some guys got out though before the flaming plane hit the ground. I was second in the stick, right behind Lt. Jones. I wanted out of that plane so damn bad! Finally, we get the green light and we're out the door. We didn't come down exactly we were supposed to, but we managed. I was with Dave, Muller, and Jackson as we headed for our first objective, a little town called Geboa. It was basically one big OP. We got there at about 0330 hrs. Resistance was lighter than we thought. We sure did cause confusion. So one by one we had to clear the houses. Dave and I then positioned the M60 on the second floor of a building to defend against counterattacks. We weren't thinking about the seven men we'd killed between now and when we got here. We were mostly concerned about securing the town. Suddenly, there was a lot of Yukes coming over the hill right into our path. They came on a major counterattack. So Dave and I just unloaded with everything we had. It took everybody by surprise, but we had the situation under control. By the time we were done there were some 30 Yukes dead by our bullets.

We had to wait for more of our company to show up though, before we moved on. There were only 30 of us. Some Alpha Company people came to reinforce us, and 2nd platoon showed up as well.

By the time all of 1st Battalion showed up, it was 0740 hrs. They'd been involved in some fierce battles all around us. Our regiment slowly gathered along the line, then at 1000 hrs, we advanced. There was no resistance in the second town amazingly enough. Now we needed to take Vijrundi. We drew heavy fire from the city at first, but as we cleared the city we realized that we were fighting a rear guard action. They'd held us up for 5 hours. It was 1500 hrs by the time we took the city. We were lucky; no one in the company's been killed. A few people were wounded including Jackson and Davis. Now we have to wait for the tanks and defend against counterattacks. We've been digging in along the west side of the city. Our regiment defends this area. It started raining halfway though the day. A good thing I waterproofed this book. We were surprised at how poorly this area was defended, but something tells me that they're going to come back. Soon.

We listened to a speech on the radio today from General Howell mainly directed towards the Yuke civilians. We'd run into a few in our short time here, but most of them were very understandably frightened of us. He was talking about wanting to cooperate with our army. I think Haley's initial reaction was "That's just a fucking pipedream."

November 3, 2010- We fought in our first major combat action. Indeed the Yukes did come back. Not 5 minutes after I wrote the last time, Dave and I were called on the man the OP. There was no activity that night, so we spent the night having a little fun with our NVGs and talking about home. Dave mentioned his fiancée, Renee who was an air traffic controller at Black Creek Air Base. If this war hadn't happened, they'd be tying the knot in a month or so. Of course, they left us out there until about 5 A.M. It was strangely humid this time of year, and it very uncomfortable being in that foxhole. Suddenly, before first light, a dreaded moaning sound could be heard, mortars. They exploded all around us. So Dave's screaming, "We got contact!" So they pull us back to the MLR (main line of resistance). Then, there was fire from the trees. So we just shoot back and forth for a few minutes. Dave opens up with everything he's got. The tree line rumbled and enemy tanks came pouring out the woods. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" I said. Then Andy and his assistant J.J Makie, runs out to try to deal with the enemy tanks. They managed to get two under heavy fire, but that did not stop them. All the while, Price, Jones, Thompson, and the other officers are running up and down the line telling us to keep up the fire. I got nicked in the shoulder by a mortar round that exploded right near our position.

However, at this point, most of us thought were we were going to get overrun. Then finally...11th Armored shows up and starts tearing the shit out everything. We just unload everything we've got. We were cheering and whatnot as they fell back. The funny thing is that despite all the rounds I fired, I don't think I actually hit anyone.

November 5, 2010-As we secured the areas around Vijrundi, a sense of relief filled my heart. I finally got the chance to call Jen and talk about all this. Our spirits our high, and we feel the war may be over soon if these good times keep on rolling. So far, casualties have been minor. However, half of 3rd platoon was missing. My shoulder is doing alright; it's just a flesh wound.

Captain Thompson mentioned something about another operation soon. He wasn't too specific on where we were going. If I was a gambling man, I'd say were going north towards Ocktabursk. He was also recommending Dave and I for the Silver Angel medal for our defense of Geboa. I couldn't believe it, apparently Lt. Jones thought very highly of what we did. I didn't think we saved the day there though. Then again, we didn't know what had happened elsewhere while we set up our defenses. It was perfectly placed; we were at the right place at the right time.

The people in this city have been somewhat tolerant of us, but tensions were still high. My encounters with them have been more successful than most other people's experiences. The city was mostly intact, with battle damage everywhere; but for the most part, it was still intact. Most had evacuated in a mad panic before we got here...yet we're still in foxholes and tents. I've tried to be a nice to them as I can be; I don't want to be viewed as some kind of terrorist or someone else to be hated. However, the more I think about it...the more I believe it really _is_ a pipe dream.

November 7, 2010- Sgts. Terry Chappelle and Cpl. Scott Dalton and Pvt. Robert Sanchez from 3rd platoon showed up. I was heading for OP duty with Dave when they came back. I wonder what happened to them? Oh well, it's good to have them back.

There's been some shuffling in the officers. We'd lost some officers over the past few days, mainly in Yuke guerrilla attacks around the area. Lt. Hayes was killed while on a patrol, Lt. Jones has replaced him as company XO. Some guys were commissioned as officers and sent to other companies, who'd had losses as well. In turn we received some knew officers. One of which was a Lieutenant D'Mornay commissioned in from Easy company. SSgt Price was platoon sergeant for like...14 hours before she took over the platoon. She is the only female officer in this battalion.

Although, there was no concern from me. Apparently, they must have sent her here for a reason. She made an immediate impression. She went around from squad to squad on her first job, learning everyone's name and trying to find the people she'd been sent to promote. There were seven of us to be promoted, me being one of them. I, Dave, Haley, Charlie, and Knowles jumped from PFC to Corporal. Pvt. Sanchez from 3rd Platoon, who'd been misdropped on D-Day jumped from PFC to Sergeant. I have no idea what he did though. I remember Charlie was extremely impressed with her efforts to get to know us. I am too. D'Angelis was sulking a bit. I don't what his problem is...well I have a fair idea but...

Earlier, we received our new orders. In a few days, the 117th and 118th regiments would be a part of Operation Hammerblow. Our operation, Operation Callisto, would be a daylight drop into the Sonza region up north. Our goal was to seize the city of Noskuv and wait for the 11th and 12th Armored Divisions. It was the same mission template as Operation Footprint to an extent. Hammerblow would be the entire 2nd Army's assault on the Yuke defensive salient around Kessus, Vijan, and Gublina. It would kick off on the 14th, so time was critical. D-day for Sonza is November 10. Here we go again...

November 9, 2010- Andy, Van Obierk, Dave and I went on a quest to find the coveted drink of the gods in the country. Dajum. The best way to describe that heavenly stuff is like if you were drinking a strawberry smoothie with all kinds of fruits thrown in it. Goddamn, that stuff is good! My bilingual capabilities made the task easier. We eventually found a crate of the stuff in an abandoned warehouse on the southside of the city. There were 24 bottles of it. Far be it from me to be a selfish sort about this though. So we gave one to all the original troopers we could find or "OTs"; this made the replacements a bit jealous. They were hungry for experience and a chance to prove themselves.

The big picture is this: trying to end the war as quickly as possible. I called Jen and asked her how things were at home. So far it seems everything's fine back home for the most part. Her birthday's on the 14th, the same day the main offensive starts. So I sent her a birthday present. She's into flowers and gardening and all that stuff, and I managed to find a small crate of seeds for one the rarest plants in the world, arcadium vistula, or Blue Rose. Coveted more than white carnations, nothing says "I love you" like extremely rare blue roses. I can't wait to see the garden.

November 10, 2010- We'd been through battles before, but nothing like this. After he hit the DZ, we head north for the hills. It was about 1000 hrs. We needed to get the Luvo Bridge and take it or our tanks would have been stuck. We came under heavy artillery attack and had to take cover along a road side embankment. Luckily, our artillery dropped down right where it needed to be, and we answered back. There was shelling back and forth as rain hit our position. A small amount of tanks came along our right flank were C Company was, but they were driven off by artillery and bazookas. It lasted until about 1540 hrs. We'd advance and come under heavy fire. Right now, we've cleared everything in the area south of the Noskuv area. Now we must prepare for the inevitable assault on Noskuv itself.

Charlie's in high sprits. He overheard some officers talking about a possible end to the war by beginning of next month. I was somewhat skeptical. Something about this battle today told us were gonna be here awhile.

November 11, 2010- We endured a firefight on a much larger scale than yesterday. We took the Luvo Bridge at 0700 without incident; however, that was only the calm before the storm. The bridge was over a canyon, with a long downward slope to the city of Noskuv. Our battalion was advancing to the river and down to Noskuv. On our right flank were 2 battalions of the 118th PIR. We were supposed to play the 118th in a baseball game before the war started. I was looking forward to it, being a first baseman. You can't get a damn thing by me.

However, when we got there, the enemy had set up many defensive positions and roadblocks in town. They were pelting us with artillery, mortars, and for the first time…air attacks. Several Migs strafed our position and dropped their payloads on us. Lt. Jones tells Cpl. Burns, our main radioman, to call for some artillery support. All the while, the enemy had us pinned down outside the town. We answer back with mortars of our own. SSgt Price told our mortar team, Cpl. Asuka Yoko, and Pvts. Willy Morrison and Lee Gibson to get that mortar humping. Then our artillery comes in. Lt. Jones tells me to get up to spot those rounds. So I run up the hill to see and sure enough, they're hitting the concealed tanks in town and such. They enemy is shooting out of windows as well. I drew some heavy MG fire so I tried back to our embankment just as enemy artillery rolled in. I ran right through all that just as some air support came in and bombed the hell out the initial defense line. We stormed into the town, expecting to find heavy resistance. To our surprise, there was no one else in town. Some looked disappointed. Lt. D'Mornay commented that we were probably fighting a rear guard action. It was 1240 hrs when the town was secured. We set up camp south of town. The tanks are late, as usual. It started raining again not to long ago. Good thing we get to stay indoors this time. We don't expect any major counterattacks yet.

November 12, 2010- Lieutenant D'Mornay was looking for volunteers for a patrol to the northeast. We always seemed to have a lack of intel, so this wasn't surprising. She has impressed me, a real risk-taker this woman is. She'd always crack a joke before a big battle to break the ice. She was a figure of worship in Easy Company before she was transferred here. She was second only to SSgt Price in terms of popularity.

So I volunteered. I figured it would be nice to have some good marks; I also didn't want to seem like a third wheel. Cpl. Green (from 2nd platoon) and Pvt. Darby, a replacement, also went with us. We left Noskuv at about 1100 hrs. Along the way, the Lieutenant told us our main goal was to turn back Yuke patrols from the defensive salient 12 miles north. I thought right then we needed some more guys.

Me and Darby ended up checking out a small building, a farmhouse in the trees up ahead. My heart was beating rapidly, but you could probably hear Darby's heartbeat in November City. Not surprising...he was just out of high school.

I was expecting an enemy OP, but found nothing. So, we breathed a sigh of relief. We ran back to the humvee and reported to D'Mornay that we found nothing. I could swear she looked disappointed. Darby starts to get in the humvee, then I start hearing rumbling sounds. Suddenly...boom! We were 60ft from the humvee, and it was on fire a minute later. Suddenly more explosions followed all around us. Enemy tanks...

Then I see Green...or what's left of him. He'd been blown off the 50 gun. I just froze up for a second. Then the Lieutenant grabs me and she's saying "We gotta get the hell out of here!" Then I hear a moaning sound. Mortars. We had to run back a mile evading enemy tanks and incoming mortars. We made it to about 4 miles from Battalion. We ran up a ditch unto the main road. Then I see a jeep coming up with enemies in it. I just start shooting. I hit the driver and it goes off the road.

There was a blast behind me. It felt like a 100 needles jammed into my leg. I fell back down into the ditch. D'Mornay killed the other one and managed to push the jeep up the low bank onto the road. Then I see some infantry coming farther down the road. Despite the pain in my leg, I still kept firing. I eventually got all 5 that were approaching. So I tried to get up, and the Lieutenant helped me into the jeep and we drove back to battalion. Were did they come from?

November 13, 2010- It's 1 AM. I'm just sitting in the aid station for a second time. Nothing to do here except heal up. I called my wife earlier, told her I was okay. She was hoping I could get a ticket home...but its just some nasty flesh wounds. I'd be back on my feet in a week or so. Poor Darby. It was his first day.

I learned that we'd drove past a large group of Yukes on a counterattack. We were lucky. They hit 3rd Battalion CP in force though. I don't know the damage, but they were turned back with help from our battalion. Gordon, Seville, Johnson and Lally came to visit. Andrew was a little torn up about Darby. He considered Darby his "protégé". They were both in the anti-armor platoon. They were both very amusing people. I hope to be out soon, but it looks like I'll miss the fireworks tomorrow. I got a visit from the regimental photographer, he showed me this cool picture he had of the other day with me running through all those artillery blasts and MGs. It was amazing; not the picture, but the fact the guy got so close to the front and survived. It was going on the front page of the "Angel Warriors", our regimental newsletter.

November 15, 2010- I was awoken today by the screams of dying people. So many were brought in and I can't even...describe what they looked like. They were from A company, H company, I company...it didn't matter. I had no idea what had happened; I thought we had lost at first.

Luckily the 2 people next to me were alive. Sgt.Chappelle (of 3rd Platoon) was to my right. I learned that he'd become a father the on D-Day. He got misdropped along with several members of 3rd Platoon and ended up fighting on the beaches with the 4th Infantry Division. Then he spoke of the battle. He told me about how they were hit by anti-personnel missiles. He told me I was lucky to be here. They were leading the main assault toward the eastern flank along with 11th Armored. It detonated right over 1st Batallion. 3rd Platoon took it the hardest; of the 45 people in 3rd platoon, 29 survived. Chappelle had lost his arm to heavy shrapnel that just it tore it off in an instant. The dark-humored Lieutenant D'Mornay commented on it, saying he still had his "good hand". It was quite unusual, hearing such a bawdy joke from her. We got a good laugh out of it though. His return would be bittersweet; he'd go home to his wife and the son he hasn't met yet. But he'd lost most of his old friends, people he'd known for years.

I remember his good friend Scott was killed. I can't even desribe what he looks like now. Not even his own mother would recognize him now. I can't look anymore...

To my left, sits Pvt. Roxanne Valentine of our squad. "Foxy Roxy" was her nickname, one I'd given her. She was a very feisty person. She had been hit in the foot, most embarrassing. She'd been demoted for fighting two months ago, but she said SSgt Price remarked that she'd be an NCO again before long. She said she destroyed two tanks all by herself. When Price came to visit, he confirmed the story. I felt bad, especially since I thought she was full of shit. She had a lot of outlandish and humorous stories she'd tell. Most of us believed she was shooting hot air, but I guess there was always an off chance that it was true. That story being one of them.

Of course, they kept my mind off the grim mood of the aid ward. Captain Thomson, our CO, was also injured during the attack. Lt. Jones is now in command. Jones was a so-so person to be around. I believed it was just the gulf between the officers and enlisted. However, he's a good tactical planner and combat leader.

Victory came at a high price. For several, hours that battle was, as Chappelle put it, "A hell on earth." I felt relief and guilt. I wished I could have been out there, but what good would I have been if I was hopping around?

November 17, 2010- My wound healed faster than the doctors thought. So they were gonna release me. Then I run into Captain Thompson. He said he was recommending me for another Silver Angel (The Osean version of the Silver Star). So I'd probably end up getting two medals in like 2 weeks. I haven't thought too much about it though, it was just about that particular moment and nothing else. The idea of medals were fleeting while I was in the hospital. He said we were moving up to Vijan, on the outskirts of Gublina. Despite being near the Ralan Mountains near Jilachi desert, it was very cold there. This country has some whacked out weather.

Roxy, Dave Gordon, Don Seville, Haley Christian, and Mattias Johnson were nomiated for Bronze ones as far as I can tell. SSgt Price and McDowell also going to get Silver ones.

Dave said he was gonna buy us all a round when we get to Vijan. It was wasted on me, I don't drink.

The Division was stationed around the city. The Marines took the city the day before. B Company took up positions on the southeast side of the city. It was cold, but at least it wasn't snowing. Most of the Yukes were concentrated to the south of us. It seems Operation Firehammer was just a fight with a rear guard action. They retreated to Jilachi, where I assume we go next.

Captain Thompson was going around from platoon to platoon selecting members for a patrol south towards Gublina. Since we were holding the MLR, we needed to keep contact with the enemy. Most, if not all, of our planes were tied up in the main offensive. Each side's positions were like a point in the other's lines. But we had to know what was going on. I volunteered. SSgt Price, Powell (3rd platoon), Davidson (2nd platoon), Milton, van Obierk (1st platoon), Valentine, and Johnson are also going. We were going to go tonight, but they changed it to tomorrow night. I don't why. It goes down tomorrow at 1800 hrs.


	3. The Strange Days

**Part III: The Strange Days**

_"It was so strange, those days in the middle of November. Everything was just a big mess. Everything was on a road goin' nowhere. You'd stop...then you'd see something uplifting. Like those Sand Island guys, for example. And I declare, just the sight of them gets ya moving again."-Cpl. David Whitefield of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 119th PIR, 79th Airborne Division_

November 19, 2010- We drove 2 and half miles to a crossroads on a combat patrol. We told that the Yukes were concentrated about 5 miles southeast of us with scattered OPs and such. I was on point, moving towards the edge of the forest. With night vision on, I continued forth then I heard a rumbling noise. I suddenly spotted a Yuke tank up ahead. So I was like, "Fuck!" The tank fired in my direction, exploded near me and threw me back some 10 yards. A few Yuke tanks were on the move. I got lost in the maelstrom of bullets. I had run straight into an enemy OP. I got cut off when the tanks came...and everyone fell back.

So there I was totally lost in a snowy forest with no winter gear. My radio got busted in the attack. A bullet snapped the cord as I tried to radio in. So I tried an end around, but ran into more MG fire. "To hell with that!" I thought. So I ended up being chased into the fores

I heard planes flying overboard and I felt vibrations in the sky. I emerged from the forest and on the hill in front of me I saw a SAM missile site in the side of it. There were only two Yukes guarding it. An Osean plane came in at low altitude, the SAM locked on and it fired. I looked and saw the pilot eject as the missile hit the plane. I quickly shot three rounds from my position, nailing both. I had to knock it out since they were probably more of our planes up there. So I ran over to where the pilot landed- a half-mile away. I get to there and I'm looking around. I see the parachute in the trees, but no pilot. Then I turn around...and I've got a 9mm Beretta pointed right between my eyes.

I jump back a bit. I'm looking at this female officer eying me with understandable suspicion. However, she noticed my outfit, and then she lowered her weapon. What that relief that was...I thought she was going to blow my fucking head off. So she asks me who I am. I tell her while I gather myself from a near-heart attack, "Cpl. Damien Klein, B company, 1st of the 117 PIR...I got cut off from my squad on a patrol. Fucking Yukes came out of nowhere. I've just been running like hell." And while I'm saying that...I'm thinking I know this woman.

All the while the storm was getting worse. I could tell she was a captain from her insignia. So she tells me she's Captain Kei Nagase. I'm thinking "You gotta be fucking kiddin' me!" It appeared that we were in the same boat. Just when I'm thinking were gonna be here awhile, we hear a familiar noise: a helicopter coming in. And I'm like "Thank god!" However, the storm was picking up, it caught the chopper, and it crashes. I just cursed bluntly, "Motherfucker!" I said. We get the survivors out. Two of them were dead, but three others were still alive. One was unhurt, one was a walking casualties and one was seriously injured. We needed to get to some shelter. So she says "Follow me." I had no idea where I was, I had no means of communication. So I follow her, but the funny thing is...she didn't seem to have the qualities of a leader. I was much better at surviving these extremes, but she was a higher rank and definitely a hell of a lot smarter than me, so the situation dictated I follow her.

It was a wise decision. Although she was much better at this stuff than I thought, she let me call most of the shots. I was up front scouting ahead at one point, and found an abandoned farm house. We hid the wounded there. Then she goes out to try to divert the enemy. No doubt they knew her renown and they would try to find us...and if she was captured there's no telling what they'd do to her…or the rest of us. However, she insisted that she go alone. So I'm sitting here watching the door and the uninjured Marine, Watersby, was looking over the wounded.   
Around 0400 hrs...she came back. I had many questions I wanted to ask. But she was a famous air force captain...I was just a lowly corporal to her. But I was wrong. She starts talking to me, and I was amazed at how humble she was. I realized this when I told her my war stories. She was shocked at some of the thing I'd seen. Then she says, "We're not the only heroes." I admitted my contempt for the air force at one time, only because I felt their job was too easy. She and her allies were obviously not this way. This I deduced after she told me about her experiences.

We start talking about our friends and family. I told her about Jen, Dave, Charlie, Haley, Price and others. Afterwards she talked about her friends, who were subsequently her wingmen. But she didn't say "wingmen"...she said friends. They reminded me of my own friends. Even her squadron leader reminded me of how SSgt Price was. I remembered her tone, and the general way she spoke of "him". It was almost as if she was attracted to him. I told her about my family, about Jen and my whole community. She was so content to just listen. She and her wingman struck me as deep, introspective, sensualists. She, like me, didn't want to be here but had to be. She shoots down planes...I jump out of them. During this conversation, we struggled to get her damaged tracking device working...and I got it working around 0700.

The storm lifted that morning. She wanted to try her radio at high altitude. There was a large mound that was over 1000 ft high near the area. She left. She comes back later with a POW. I no clue how the hell she pulled that one off. She tells me a rescue's on the way. I have no idea what she did but then we're heading back up the mountain. Were waiting..waiting...then after a tense few minutes our rescue comes. Those guys in the sky, they were so excited. I could hear him and the other guys over Nagase's radio. I have never heard such jubliation.

We were airlifted to Vijan. On the way, an injured Marine stopped breathing. So I try to revive him; give him CPR. I got him breathing again. But sadly, he died before we landed. Once we got there, I hopped off that helicopter then she says, "I'll make sure you get a medal for this one." I saluted, but she just extended her hand. I shook it, and they were gone. Then I discovered when I got back that indeed was a Yuke counterattack...but 1st Battalion and 12th Armored managed to repel the attack. SSgt Price had 2 dozen volunteers to look for me. Everybody was happy to see me back. They were all patting me on the back. These guys were probably gonna get themselves killed for me. I called Jen and told her the whole story. The sad thing is that she's one the few who believed I met one the "Four Wings of Sand Island". This is why I never argued that women shouldn't be allowed to fight on the front lines. They work twice as hard as us guys do. Hell, Jen might have enlisted too if it weren't for her height, she's barely 5 feet tall. I still would have married her though.

November 20, 2010- After the fierce battles in the past two days, the Yukes have mostly abandoned the Gublina region. Now it's just mopping up any last resistance in the area. 1st platoon headed south towards the area I got cut off from the squad 2 days ago. There were signs of tree bursts and tank treads everywhere. We came across two Marines holding a few POWs.

D'Angelis, the black sheep of B Company, walks up and starts making fun of these poor guys. SSgt Price tells him to knock it off. After his usual bitching, he starts walking off. He turns to me and asked me something. His exact words were: "I wonder what ass-end of this fucking country these guys come from?" I took a look back. Suddenly, one of the guys said in perfect Osean, "St.Arbucies." I was shocked...that was my hometown...

Turns out the guy has family here. This guy is a member of a Yuke paratroop unit. He, like me, got cut off in that brutal attack yesterday. This guy lived literally 6 blocks down the street from me. He moved here four years ago. His older brother was, and still is, in the air force. He married his brother's wife's sister and they both lived in some town called Zalus (that town will be come infamous later...). He joined the...fifth air guards' army I believe it's called. We took the prisoners back to battalion, and we talked the whole way. But what struck me was his outlook on this whole thing. He told me, and only me, what was really going on here.

He was happy to be out of the whole thing. Many Yukes honestly don't know why they were fighting. They were just simply told so go here and attack here...and so on and so on. Just like normal soldiers. His brother felt the same way. This Yuke pilot often thought about the people he shot down. After some thought he'd say, "What other choice is there? To fight is die...to not fight is to die. It makes no difference".

All of us would rather be home right now. But that guy's right. What else is there? In peacetime, this guy could have been a good friend. But we all have a job to do. I guess I should stop trying to humanize this whole thing...maybe I'll live longer. At least I didn't have to kill the guy. Well...now I realize it's impossible now.

November 21, 2010- We got our first briefings on Operation Desert Blitz. The whole thing was just a massive offensive against the Yukes defensive salient there. Our battalion's objective was to capture an oil facility along with elements of 11th Armored. B Company has been selected to lead the initial assault; we are to secure the bridge over the river Semya.

Everyone is very motivated; the war could be over before the month is over. Everyone's making bets about when the war's gonna be over. I can't believe this war is going so fast. Everybody seems to want a quick war, but this is just too good to be true.

I got a very long letter from Jen. My family and some of the families in this regiment live in a community near Fort Augustine near Sierra City. We're a very close nit community. Jen knows the names of many people in B Company and her brother's company, Easy Company. It's seems to be a standoff between the military families and the civilian families. There is a _massive_ anti-war sentiment from them. But they're mostly upset at the government for encouraging the whole thing. Nagase mentioned something about this. She said for the most part very few people supported it, including her and her squadron. Just like that Yuke I met in the forest. Then she tells me about things people call us: heroes, pawns, and murderers. Everyone in the community thought the world of us. Everyone else thought we were the tools, pawns, or both of a corrupt government.

But that was the ordinary people. Our company's morale was very high. Well, mostly. Haley has been strangely introspective.It was so strange at this point. I guess the men she'd mowed down with her machine gun weighed on her. She asked me once, "You think we're going to hell for this?" Haley Christenson, among most dedicated NCOs in whole company, asks me this. I didn't have an answer. I never have an answer. I've tried my hardest to block all this out of my mind. But no matter what goes on at home...the only thing I can do what they tell me to do. Then again, Haley has just about as much a flip attitude as Gagne or Lanning.

On a more positive note, Lt. Jones (company XO) was recommending some people for promotions, me being one of them. That is...provided I survive the next encounter. Asuka is now "Suki", as I call her now. Her name just wears itself out over time. She's a pale skinned, pasty faced, with her voice having a hint of helium. She is a little eccentric, she sits Indian style and cross armed giving the commands to the other people in the mortar team. It's like it's a business to her; which isn't far off. Her father and brother are both in big business. One time, when she and the crew dropped a mortar round onto a target, Dave jokingly said, "There's another hostile takeover." She just laughed it off.

November 23, 2010- I wear a rare honor on my uniform, something no one else in the 79th Airborne Division or the whole Airborne Corps has. United Branch Citation. This citation is only given for rare and unique operations involving more than 2 branches of the army. The Rescue of Captain Kei Nagase, myself, Lt. Don Johnson and Sgt. Watersby of the OMC, or Operation Icarus as it came to be called was the brainchild of Colonel Modelheim, commander of the 10th Fighter Wing, all of the auxiliary squadrons in the OAF. 3 Marine helicopters, 2 fighter squadrons and of course us on the ground were involved.

It was given to me during this ceremony at Vijan with all the division bigwigs there. They read the citations for medals, with me getting the Halo Cross. This one is usually for the air force, but I was the first non-air force guy to win it. It was a very special moment for me.

This tale one of the good war stories of this conflict. Even though I played a small part in it, I was still proud to have done what I could, even if I wouldn't have been there under normal circumstances. They say though I saved the day by fixing the transmitter. I guess being a former auto repair guy paid off. The official citation has all the names of those involved. This shut up all my critics. But I wanted to get back to B Company ASAP. There was just too much brass there...I felt embarrassed. I was one of only 2 NCOs there. But I did get to meet the Wardog squadron. And I declare, for officers, they are the most informal people I've ever met.

They seemed to do their duty using common sense, practicality, respect and a hatred of…well, hatred. They were all so happy-go-lucky; people that both enjoyed and hated their jobs. To have that kind of attitude in the sky is one thing. There life is imperfect, split-second decisions don't have to be made every single second. On the ground it's different. There are just too many factors that can ruin a trooper's day. They are lucky: some soldiers would misinterpret their anti-war sentiments as grounds for treason or what not. People like D'Angelis would be a perfect example. He is a born instigator, a lover of conflict and drama. I'd imagine Nagase or any of her friends would consider putting a bullet in his shoulder or something if we had switched places that day. Not that D'Angelis would willingly concern himself with his allies, paratrooper or otherwise. He is such a goldbrick. Spends all his time coming up with plausible reasons to get out of everything. However, he was just as good a person as anyone else.

I enjoyed conversing with the Wardog Squadron. They are probably the only people I feel I can talk to all day and not get bored. There are some exceptions: Jen and my old friends.November 24, 2010- I think everything has caught up to me. I keep playing the memories over and over in my mind. This whole war has as been a dizzying kaleidoscope of victory, dazzling air shows, and the sights and sounds of death and heavy metal. In a few hours, I will make my third combat jump. Well, maybe not "combat"; we'll be dropping east of the Semya river...Battalion doesn't think there's anything there.

Even if there was, who would say they'd fight? Some would believe the Yukes have no fight left. They've got plenty left in my opinion. They have mass reserves of firepower. Yet the army is divided. Some believe they were just thrown into the war haphazardly, with no hope of victory. Some are very patriotic. A few are too patriotic; bordering on psychotic if the Apoito Airport incident proved anything. They strangely did not tell us much about it. Jen told me over the phone. I have no idea why they would wait so long to give us the details on this whole thing.

I gave Jen quite a scare...I told her I thought I was living on borrowed time. Every minute was unsure thing where a plane in the sky or a sniper in the trees could finish me off. She and the community, unlike _her_ family back home, have absolute faith in my ability to survive. She said "Godamnit, stop saying that! I know you can come back to us in one piece." To which I replied, "You have no idea what it's like here." I guess she was still worried, but dropped it since she thought I was right.

No one except those who fight knows how it is. Come to think of it...it supposed to be 110 degrees in the desert, yet that isn't what's bothering me. SSgt Price gave us a bit of a pep talk...just the usual. The only thing interesting was that he replaced Christenson with me as assistant squad leader. She didn't object...she's been real spacey lately. But me...a possible leader? I'm not too worried about it. I've fought with these people before, known them since BCT. I'd have the easier job than the officers.

I remembered yesterday when I saw "them" flying around near Vijan; at least I think it was them. I wonder if they'll be there. If they are, I know everyone in this Division is gonna go ape shit. Morale is still high. But will it last?

November 26, 2010

Today I sit in the medical tent for a third time. This wound I have is less serious than the one I took before Operation Callisto (Concurrent to Mission 13). I still can't believe I'm alive. My face still burns from that damn artillery attack. To my left I see a dead man, burned, missing the lower half of his body. I can't even look...

We dropped in yesterday at 0900 to secure the way for the 2nd and 3rd Armored Battalions of the 11th Armored Division. Everything was going great. SSgt Price led us up to the bridge over Semya. There was some minor fighting across the bridge; Charlie Company was engaging the Yukes on the other side of the river. After that settled down, all we had to do was wait on the tanks.  
I was talking to Seville during that time. Gordon came up and joined our conversation. I think we were talking about this movie we watched several the other day. It was _The Other Side, _a day in the life type of movie. Then we heard rumbling. Clark, a new recruit started panicking. To which I said, " Calm down, those are ours. It's about damn time, too." We got into some APCs and we were behind the tanks. Then the chaos started. We could feel explosions. Nightingly, the 50 gunner got hit in the shoulder. SSgt Price was yelling for someone to get on the gun, so I volunteered. I saw tanks everywhere...firing point blank. Planes were falling out of the sky. I spent the next few minutes blasting infantry. Seville shouted, "Were fucking driving on bullets!" in his take on the chaos. Everyone was pretty nervous. The bullets kept hitting the side of our APC as if they were rattling inside the APC itself.

After a few minutes of constant fire, we were held up by a large enemy stronghold. As we were told, our battalion was to take the oil facility. 2nd would deal with that place. As we tried to flank the facility, we were drawing heavy fire. They let loose with artillery, and I try in vain to shoot at them. Then..."they" came. The "Four Wings of Sand Island" flew right over my head. I recognized those planes; they were in the same unique formation as I saw them the other day. And they bombed the hell out of that place. I was telling everybody, and I could swear I could hear whole desert erupt in cheers.  
Finally, about 20 minutes later, we get to the oil facility. The rest of the air force had worked this facility over. We dealt with minor resistance, most had turned tail and ran. Fighting had broken out at the docks. I, Loran, and Seville ran right into a MG position. Loran got torn apart. I quickly threw a grenade that way distracting the gunner. When it went off, we came out from behind the wall and started shooting. We got three of them. The other two surrendered. I knew Yuktobanian, and I heard their panicked stories, talking about the "Demons of Razgriz" and how they were wiped out. I automatically knew who they were talking about. The survivors mostly retreated with a few left struggling to fight.

After some time, the heat caught up with me a bit. So as I sat down to rest, SSgt Price and the rest of our squad comes up. I don't remember exactly what he said then. Now it was basically clean up. About ten minutes later and we (Charlie, Dave, Peter, and Cpl. Jos "The Boss" Elliot) were chatting around an artillery crater. Then all hell broke loose...

It sounded like a blast in the distance like a freight train...then SSgt Price is yelling, "Take cover!" A massive explosion rocked us. It was where some of A company was. Then, more followed. Everyone scrambled to find cover, a rock, an enemy foxhole, anywhere. For about 30 seconds, there was nothing but earth-shattering explosions. I was still in the crater. What I witnessed...was the most terrifying display of artillery I had ever seen. Then, a blast knocked me back some ten yards. My face was on fire and I could barely see. Then, I heard a voice. "I gotcha buddy! Hang on!" It was SSgt Price. He pulled me into a building. Then he went back out to get another guy still out in the open. The explosions went on for a full minute...then silence.

Now I sit in an aid station having taken near fatal shrapnel in my head. My luck has held up once again. Now to get out of bed, take a deep breath, and a look at the unfortunate trooper. It's...SSgt Price. Sarge...


	4. Shiver

**Part IV: Shiver**

_"This whole forest has become a battlefield. They could be anywhere out there. There's nothing more scary than being shot at and you can't find the damn guy! "Sgt. Ricardo Jameson of Charlie Company, of the 118th PIR, 79th Airborne Division after the battle of Parachova._

November 28, 2010- I was surprised so many managed to survive such a hellish artillery attack. Perhaps, it was because we were so spread out. We only suffered 6 dead and 22 wounded. My head is healing up fine...no life threatening damage. That's more than what I can say for some. SSgt Price was an icon to us, even in BCT. Best damn NCO there was. SSgt McDowell said he deserved a Seraphim Crest (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor) for saving three guys in his platoon even while taking that awful fire. I guess they needed a Sergeant in Heaven.

During the wait, I did indeed receive a promotion to Sgt, as well as Gordon, Lally, Christenson, and Seville. The squad command also passed to me. Still, I wasn't too worried. We were a coherent unit, with an exception; D'Angelis being that exception. D'Angelis was the kind of guy who fit and didn't fit into the army. Don't expect him to go out of his way; he didn't even volunteer to help look for me. He never let down in combat...but everywhere else...

He was widely disliked, as I have mentioned before. But none hated him like Roxy. From the get-go they've been enemies. He has this "misogynist-complex". I bet when Lt. D'Mornay was commissioned and transferred from Easy Company to our platoon, he must have been mad as hell. He just seemed to hate everyone. He was hard on prisoners, sometimes shoving them around and whatnot.

We were pulled back to Vijan today. As we were settling in again, we were hearing things about the western front. That area, known as Rydling, has been constantly changing hands since the beginning of the war. Our brothers in the 17th Air Assault Division have been sent to Ocktabursk, where it may be on the verge of collapse. No one knows where we're going next. Maybe that's a good thing.

November 29, 2010- We received some replacements and we've had some shakeups in the noncoms and officers. Captain Thomson has moved up to battallion XO. Lt. Jones is now in command of B Company. Lt. D'Mornay is company XO. One replacement officer, 2nd Lieutenant Sabon is my platoon leader. He was commissioned from Fox Company. He's not very demanding and a competent individual from what I can tell. Roxy is a corporal again. I wasn't too concerned about the squad leadership until today, when our squad got 2 new members, Pvts. Carter and Webber. Now, I have to keep the new guys alive as well; it's the only thing I'm afraid of.

Lt. Jones then briefed us today about the Rydling region. The Yukes had beaten back our forces in a vital city, Sevaspol. That city had changed hands 4 times in 3 weeks. We'd be shipping out soon to that area. We also received some new uniforms, white and black camouflage. The Rydling region is unbelievably cold this time of year. Our regiment would jump on December 2 at 1100 hrs. Our goal is rendezvous with the 3rd Infantry Division outside of Parakchova. How intriguing…a fourth combat jump in a month. Many of the rookies were hungry for experience. I remember Carter was very excited about the possibility of combat. My dilemma was whether or not to tell him the reality of combat. I decided to let him have his enthusiasm. We may need it yet….

December 1, 2010-I wasn't expecting to be here _this _soon, I had thought that 3rd Marine Division could hold the line. I was wrong. The Yukes blasted a huge hole in their lines and were heading straight for Parakchova. They were taking a beating and we had to get there post-haste. I was outside that night when I heard the news from Lt. Jones. So I'm running around trying to get everyone up in mad rush. All the C-130s were there on standby just in case of this very situation. By the time we got to our DZ, it was sunrise. We landed in a hot DZ though. They came out of nowhere. We'd landed in the right place at the wrong time…

We were scambling trying to get organized. This was much worse than Bastok. I think they were the Yuke paratroopers of the 10th Division that Lt. Jones told us about. They were elite. So were we.

We had to fall back to a high ridge for cover. I told Haley and Dave to set up their guns on the highest ridge. Then, Lt. Sabon and the rest of us in the company just opened up. I think I was almost out of ammo by the time it was all over. We were lucky, only 22 wounded. All of my people are still alive. Alpha Company got the hell beat out of them, they lost 15 guys. We had to dig in for the night while Division gets organized. Sabon sent for some ammo, but no word so far. So our master scrounger, Pvt. Brooks, went for it. He better hurry the hell up. We're in the OP, and I'm concerned were gonna be attacked again.

December 2, 2010- Brooks came back later, with ammo and a 50 cal that made Haley's day. She'd have a field day with that one today. He considered it an early birthday present. Brooks can get anything, just say the word.

We were not sure whether the enemy was holed up on the other side of the trees or if they retreated. So we, we're just sitting here in our foxholes waiting for orders. Daytime movement was hard, snipers could be anywhere. I heard about the Yuke snipers; how deadly and effective they were. Then around 1400 hrs…they threw the kitchen sink at us. They had bombers, tanks, infantry, and enough artillery to blow up Oured. The tanks were little threat since we had an advatagous position. The anti-tank units had a ball. Lally racked up 4 kills. However, the artillery was hell. There was a two minute long attack, followed by infantry. I kept running up and down our squad's section of the line checking on everyone. Then some fighter bombers came in to dropped some bombs on us. I remember seeing some guys from 2nd Platoon get blown out of their foxholes about 20 yards from my position.

I yell at Gordon and Carter to cover the left side while I tried to ascertain our situation. Lt. Sabon came running down to our position calling for reinforcements along the right side. I get Webber, Lally, and D'Angelis and we headed down the line. At about that time, mortars came in as we ran. Snow, ice, and shrapnel filled the air; they were breaking through the right flank.

When we got there, I realized why the line was going to collapse. The ridge was undulating, and 3rd Platoon and C Company were threatened by tanks. Infantry came out of the tree line and we fought in the middle of an artillery barrage for about 15 minutes. Suddenly, three tanks came over the hill. Muretadynes or Death Rollers translated literally. The deadliest tanks in the Yuke arsenal; they had 130mm dual barrels, missile launchers, enough steel to outweigh D'Angelis' ego. I think I said, "We're so dead." Then...one of them exploded. Suddenly, there were multiple explosions down their lines. Several Osean planes, F-15 Strike Eagles rolled up.

The Yukes fell back as Marines in helicopters came in to reinforce us. I have a feeling this is far from over. Luckily, my squad's all intact. We did pretty damn fine as I can tell.

December 4, 2010-We've finally got everything in order and can advance to Sevaspol. Before we get to the city, have to clear the woods of Dwathamper. This is one huge forest; yet it seems strangely beautiful with the light snow. It's about 1800 yards to the city. We've cleared about 1000 so far. We'll probably end up at the city before 1000 hrs tomorrow. There was minor resistance. Lally was wounded by a mine that exploded killing 2 guys in 2nd platoon. He wasn't hurt too bad, but he'll probably miss the main assault. Our "tank terror" would finally get his first purple heart, but I was concerned.

Most of the TOW Rocket crews remaining were replacements. There was no telling how much armor was concentrated in the city. Two came today, a brother and sister fraternal twins who by some fluke, both ended up in our company. They were Pvts. Johnny and Miranda Allen. They lived around St. Augustine, they were the middle two of six siblings. All of them were in the military; four of them alone were in the paratroops. The oldest one, Damon Allen of 3rd Platoon, was killed in Operation Callisto. So with them, the squad consists of me, Sgts. Gordon, Christenson, Seville, Cpls. Valentine and D'Angelis, and Pvts. Webber and Carter. The "rocket twins" got their first initiation today.

At 1500 hrs, we were pinned down by several Yukes in a ruined structure ahead. As we tried to deal with the snipers and such, there was a Yuke jeep that was trying to get away. Without hesitation, they had already loaded a rocket and Johnny with amazing accuracy put one a rocket threw it. I was surprised at how fast they were. They may live through this one yet.

Sevaspol will be the largest city we've encountered. I hope few civilians are in the city. They were setting up artillery in the woods. If there are any, I feel sorry for them as there is little to do but what were told. Our Division has a crack artillery unit. Then again, Lt. Jones (now Captain) told us we'd be going up against the some best infantry units in the Yuke army backed up by the ruthless Ovanji Tangra or Shadow Knights, among the most ruthless soldiers in the world. It seems we're going to fight for every inch of Sevaspol.

December 5, 2010- After clearing the woods of Dwathamper, the entire Third Army assembled outside the large frozen city of Sevaspol. All the Divisions would attack from three directions. We'd waited for a green light as the air force took out targets of opportunity. When we heard those words, the tanks then moved in with us behind it. There was so much open field, and even more flak. We ran through mortars, artillery fire, sniper and machine gun fire, tank shells, the occasional strafing Mig squadron. We would reply in kind.

As us in the Airborne approached the industrial sector, we would exprience urban combat at its purest and harshest; it was the ugly visage of total warfare. Every block, every building had to be struggled for. Sevaspol was an easy way to earn a purple heart. Tanks were concealed in buildings. It took 2 hours to take that sector. I saw a whole squad from Fox Company get wiped out by a machine gun. By 1500 hrs, the city was in our hands. 4th Infantry got banged up pretty bad. Our losses were lower than we expected though.

However it was brutal; we lost Carter to a sniper. Poor kid didn't even make it to the city. Webber got shot as we pushed into the city and died later at the aid station. Valentine got shot in her other foot. She was lucky though, it was only a ricochet. I guess me laughing it off didn't improve her disposition. Charlie took a piece of shrapnel in the face, nearly took out his left eye.

Even I wasn't spared. I got pinged in the neck by a sniper. Dave told me I was a lucky bastard. Sasby, from 2nd platoon, had his neck torn in half by a sniper. A medic said if it were a half-inch to the right I'd be dead. My luck has been extremely good so far. However, I keep thinking about how close I came every time. I keep thinking about how night after night I keep dreaming of Jen and long, thick, black, curly hair and those ocean blue eyes. Everyday I get closer to coming home. She knows so little of what I do. Does she know I slit a man's throat with my bayonet for the very chance to dream about her? I killed 10 men just to write this. I can't tell her. She'd be sick at the thought. I am too. This has to stop. Maybe Haley was right...we're so going to Hell for this...

December 6, 2010- My neck stings a bit, but it could be worse. The only thing to do now in the city is clean up. Our squad ended up taking 30 prisoners. We didn't run into any Ovanji Tangra, so that was a plus. Most of the civilians had fled or hid underground. Bravo Company lost 10 men. We were lucky. One regiment in the 4th Infantry lost some 400 men from what I hear, it was pretty bad. The good news is that we get excellent barracks. Of course, it's all relative. The three story apartment building our platoon was stationed in was run down and had battle damage. However, at least it wasn't a foxhole out in the snow. The food was still mediocre at best. Our position was overlooking the northeastern forest. My squad served as OP #4 along the east side. We could call for artillery support any time we wanted, of course there was nothing to bomb out there.

We had done tremendous damage to the enemy in the last few days. Many still had high hopes that the war would be over soon. I reminded my people that this was far from over. After all I've learned from prisoners, it seems the military government does not want to quit so soon. Like us, most of them just want this to end.

December 9, 2010- So far, we've just sitting around doing nothing but watching the woods, cooking, listening to each other's humorous stories. Today, we witnessed an air battle in the gray skies above. It was quite the grand spectacle. We watched it in excitement, one of the only enjoyable aspects of war. It was hard to tell who won, but 4 planes from each side were there, and 4 left the battle. I wonder if it was the Wardog squadron up there. I envy David. He gets to his job with his girlfriend; his job is relatively easy compared to us army grunts. I haven't heard anything from them though. There were rumors going around that they were shot down. I didn't pay much attention to them. I mean, they were only rumors...

We received some care packages from our families back home. Mostly stuff to remind us of home. Jen made this gift card video with her goofy friends. It was kinda corny, but I'm missing that real bad right now. She sent me a pack of cocoa along with some other stuff. I remember Garcia got a truckload of stuff from everybody in his family. Lucky bastard. At least his in-laws actually like him. Well, their not all bad. Jen's mother is really nice, when she's sober. Her father just has it out for me. I fucking hate her family. They're all rich and elite, hoping their daughter would marry someone rich and famous, with a big house and a fast car... Luckily for me, she chose Damien Klein, a former auto repair guy, crazy paratrooper, middle-class, motorcycle-riding, soldier trying to survive in this frozen hell. My life here is nothing but a day-to-day affair...

I haven't seen Jen in 3 and half months. I'm in a foreign land, freezing my ass off wanting nothing more than to be home. But one thing added to our content. We had heard about the fall of Cruik Fortress 2 days ago. It seems our buddies in 11th Armored did okay after all. We're not sure if were going on the move again soon, but we got it made so far. We got food, water, a roof over our heads, beds, and we're not getting shot at or shooting at anyone. If only we could stay here until the war ends...

December 12, 2010- The Osean Third Army has gathered for the drive northward. Guess who gets to be in the lead...

Our next target is the town of Kukof, 3 miles northeast of us. Captain Jones (formerly Lt.) ordered us to advance to a ridge overlooking the valley. Everyone else, the 4th Infantry, 13th and 15th Marine Divisions, 8th and 9th Armored Divisions marched at our flanks. Of course, we're supposed to be surrounded. Most of us, including myself, were expecting heavy resistance as we moved through the forest. But there was almost none. The only exception was an OP we ran into along the way. Morrison chucked a grenade at it and killed the two guys there.

We dug in a long a high ridge overlooking the entire valley and the town of Kukof in the distance. Visibility was much better today since the snow lifted and the long, lingering clouds left. The scenery was quite nice; however, we had no idea where the enemy was. Some believed we were walking into a trap. Others believed we'd broken the backs of the enemy. I don't believe that. There was a sizable force at Sevaspol, but not nearly enough to have completely routed them. The enemy commander may have been just biding his time.

We could see 8th Armored on our right moving in to position en masse. They spread out all over the valley like a metallic carpet. Seville's looking at it through his binoculars, when all the sudden he says, "Oh shit! We got enemy Tanks coming out of the treeline 12:00 low!" So I heard immense rumbling and I took out my own binoculars to look. The treeline began to collapse as enemy tanks came through it. But then I saw the panicked reaction of the Yuke Tanks. Both armored divisions had literally run straight into each other. Then the firing commenced. It was like a dogfight on the ground or dozens of men going at it with shotguns in a enclosed space. From our position there was little we could do.

The tanks were weaving in and out of each other's lines. Just the sheer size of the battle amazed me. To the far right, I could see pillars of smoke on the horizon; there were also large explosions along the rear. The Yukes were counterattacking. Several F-18s came to bomb targets. The Yukes retaliated with bomb runs of their own. Enemy helicopters strafed the tanks as well. I remember one chopper that did a gun run on our position. We just opened up on it and eventually through combined effort the chopper went down. Some guys from 2nd Platoon got killed. The battle raged on. Finally after about some 20 minutes, some A-10s came in. What a mess they made! However, we were to still hold the position while the battles around the valley continued. So much for a warm place to sleep...

December 14, 2010-We had witnessed a huge battle yesterday, today we saw the results. As we cleared the woods and headed into Kukof, we saw burning tanks everywhere. They burned into the night, some are still burning. The ground was filled with wrecked enemy planes. So at least the air force did okay. We captured some Yuke prisoners; most were out of fuel or ammo or both. Their faces were filled with grim horror. I remember seeing men without limbs and such. For us who'd seen death before, it wasn't as shocking as it was to the newer soldiers. Some of the inside of those tanks though...

We cleared east, and as we walked along, we saw nothing but destruction. The trees were torn apart, there were burning and wrecked tanks for as far as the eye could see. The whole forest seemed to be covered in smoke and fire. There were large patches of bloodied ice from the dead and wounded. Though the 8th Armored Division was badly mauled, they still maintained an aura of confidence like most tankers. I have no idea why they'd be so enthusiastic; they'd lost many tanks as far we could comprehend. Maybe they lived for these things.

The snow and cold has been taking its toll. Some people were treated for frostbite. Some were sick. There were others that were close to breaking. Even now as we clear the woods with little resistance on our end, some looked as if they would snap any second. I have to keep my squad's morale up, I don't want them to break. Something told me we'd need every soldier we could spare...


	5. Purgatory, Inferno, Paradise

**Part 5: Purgatory, Inferno, Paradise**

_"I can only see death here. Everywhere lay the scenes of destruction. As if this place lies within the mind of a madman."- Cpl. Amelia Beckett a medic in Bravo Company, 117th PIR, 79th Airborne Division. This was quoted from her diary entry during the battle of Zalus. _

December 15, 2010- Our next venue of this "exciting" tour of the Rydling region is the city of Zalus. Intelligence thinks that the Yukes have concentrated their remaining forces here after we managed to beat them at Kukof. Zalus is also important for two reasons. The first is so our two armored divisions can link up. The second is that is the only strategic area for the main assault on Myzem and Telemark. However, for most of us, we just want to end this damn thing.

As usual, they want us in the lead. General Collins(3rd Army commander) is starting to piss the Airborne guys off. Attack. Attack. Attack. Attack. That's all he wants. It's frustrating because our Division commander is outranked by this bull-headed guy. Many think he thinks were disposable. He kept changing the positions he'd wanted us in. We'd start to dig in. Then we'd have to go somewhere else, then somewhere else. Intelligence has been somewhat poor. It frustrated the officers because of the little time they had to plan; however, even with the planning time, it would have been mostly for naught with this crappy visibility.

Not to mention this rapid pace of ours is not being methodically done. I feel like were overextending ourselves. As we've advanced through the forest, we've had to deal with snipers, mines, more snipers. We've been constantly losing contact between squads and platoons. Most of us don't have radios. Only the officers, squad and platoon leaders have them.

Then I just saw something that made me sad. We were attacked by mortars around 1500 hrs. When they stopped, we heard shooting. Some guys from G Company had dealt with the enemy mortar team. So me and Dave walk to the east and hear some strange wailing. At first I thought we had a man down. So we ran over and found, of all things, a very large deer…with both of its hind legs either torn off or damaged beyond repair. The way this thing was screaming made me cringe inside. Dave took his 9mm and put it out of its misery. Why are still seeing things like this in this day and age?

December 16, 2010- I hate being right all the time. I felt we were walking into a trap, and I was correct. We entered the area of Zalus this morning, a larger town in this region. Taking this town would set up for the big drive toward Myzem, the largest city on this side of Yuktobania. If we can take Myzem we could proceed to Telemark, the enemy HQ.

The snow had been horrible here for the last few days. We had no idea what the hell the enemy had here. There was nothing. The town was empty.

We cleared each house with a growing, ominous feeling. 1st and 2nd Battalions of our regiment and 1-118th(or 1st battalion) were the first to enter the town. Us in 1st platoon managed to secure the chateau on the edge of town. Captain Jones ordered us to cover the windows and doors with machineguns. 2nd and 3rd platoons set up outside. Dave and I set up one in a 1st story window in view of a cresting road. It was perfectly placed to wipe out any infantry. Now all we had to wait for the tanks.

Suddenly, we heard rumbling. The forest itself was shaking. The sounds of artillery filled the air. Infantry poured out the woods wearing red fatigues and bayonets aplenty. The Ovanji Tangra had arrived. They pounded us with 88s, 105s, 120s. OP #1 was overrun almost instantly. We unloaded on them. So many fell, but they just kept coming. OP #2 was overrun. Eventually, they overrun the walls outside the chateau. We struggled to fix bayonets as they fought them outside and inside. It was brutal. They had all kinds of weapons. One guy even had a flamethrower. Johansson from 3rd platoon blew him up with one well placed shot. We fought around corners, up and down stairs, and in every romm. They just attacked, and attacked, and attacked. After some time, they retreated.

We breathed a sigh of relief. There were a lot of wounded; the fighting had spread all over town. Although exhausted, we still have to hold the line. The tanks were getting held up. I hope those Tangra don't come back. We gave them hell. But we almost got our asses kicked. I remember their faces, filled with intense rage and fervor. They were unlike any Yuke soldiers I've ever seen.

December 18, 2010- The whole division now defends this town. What's taking those damn tanks so long?

We're still in our in our relative comfort in the chateau. No one is sure whether the enemy will come back. We've been under small attacks from the Tangra for the last 36 hours. C company drove off a few approaching in APCs. At least we have some 50cal MGs now. Some Yuke planes rolled in on us, but were driven off by our own planes. We've hardly had any rest as they just keep harassing us.

Not two hours ago, 2 tanks and a bunch of infantry attacked along the west side of town. Captain Jones gets all the anti-tank units into action. Johnny and Miranda get set up to fire a TOW missile at one tank. I was right above them in a bombed out section of the mansion. Then, I hear a loud shot and I see both of them go down. Our mortars get humping, and Lally and his men change positions. They had to be 50 cal rifles. Johnny's gotta a hole in his head the size of a jawbreaker. That same bullet tore through Miranda's leg. I get down there only to see another guy behind him dead. Murphy. Damn sniper got three people with one shot. So I'm calling for a medic, and he gets there. The tanks were still coming. As we try to stop the bleeding, this poor woman's getting hysterical. Amazingly, the artery wasn't hit; it just tore off a huge chunk of her thigh.

We're trying to get her back inside, when a Yuke breaks his way though and starts running toward us. Then in a feat of dexterity, Cpl. Elliot throws his bayonet at the guy from the 2nd floor and got him in the head. He told me later he was trying to reload. So the attack was driven off yet again. The casualties are climbing. I'm not sure if we can hold this place much longer. We also learned the tanks had been struggling with anti-tank units and artillery as well. We don't know the status of 4th Infantry or the Marines on the far right side of the line.

I saw her at the aid station later; she just looked pale and and sad unlike anything I'd ever seen. She was just mute, didn't say a thing. So I tell her "I'm sorry about Johnny." She just welled up and cried. I came back 6 hours later...she was too weak to cry anymore. Now that I think about it, she didn't lose a brother...she lost half her own identity. Cpl. Howard was looking at the remains of his good friend Cpl. Derek Murphy. I don't remember his exact facial expression, but he was probably just as sad. Bluntly, his place has been Hell.

December 19, 2010- I, and all the others, have been unable to call our loved ones during this hellacious period. We've just been constantly under attack. Not 10 minutes after I finished writing the last entry, we were hit once again by the relentless Tangra. It's a shame. This town was once a nice place. Seemed liked a cool place for me and Jen to spend our first anniversary. That's in 6 days, and it looks like I'll be spending it on the front lines. I'm missing her so much. Even now, after having checked the status of my squad, I go back to my lonely thoughts.

The last time I spoke to her was 10 days ago. She'd volunteered to help sort and deliver the lists of KIA, WIA, MIA of every one in our regiment. I told her in act of extreme ego (in retrospect) that she wouldn't see my name on the KIA list. I wasn't known for such confidence, but she was pretty happy. I guess she wanted me to think that way to give us both hope. Hope is one of the most prevalent intangible ideals, other than love, hate, and faith.

If I ever get home, I will never take our relationship for granted. There will be no lack of appreciation for what I have. I would give just about anything to wake up, not in a frozen foxhole, but with in arm's reach of her soft, rosy colored skin. At the least I want to wake up anywhere but here. I dreamed about her long, black, flowing hair in the wind. I dream about that beach and the sea breeze near the base. I dream about what the neighbors must feel, maybe having lost sons, fathers, sisters, etc.

The current enemy has no respect for life, ours or their own. They shoot their brothers who intelligently fall back. Lt. D'Mornay told me a rumor about them killing their civilians and blaming it on us. It seemed too unbelievable, but it did not surprise me considering their brutality.

If I have kids, I would never want them to act as irresponsibly we humans have. It is here I witness this vicious cycle of life, death, victory and defeat that no child should see or experience. Yet sadly, it would be terribly naive of me to say that no children have so far. I hope they would be lovers of peace and harmony. Even most of the Yukes are, yet like me are forced to fight in a war we cannot truly understand.

December 20, 2010- It seems, for the most part, the battle for Zalus is all but over. We drove off yet another full-scale assault. They tried to flank us, attacking from all sides. I think the enemy was suprised we didn't bug out. However, several tanks broke though our defense line. The whole thing degenerated into a brutal street fight. Finally, our tanks broke through sometime later. We were somewhat livid. "Where the fuck were you 3 days ago!" Haley asked angrily.

It was a good thing they came when they did. We were down to nothing in terms of ammo and supplies. Our company lost 15 guys people including Marlowe, Johnson, Ramirez and Brooks. D'Angelis, the guy we all love to hate, bled to death due to a heavy sniper wound. He was in a rarely vulnerable position; he was losing it. Ironically enough, it was his old rival, Roxy that was the first person at his side. The whole time he was like "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Oh...GOD!" Then there was silence sometime later. The bullet cut the main artery in his leg. Miranda was lucky since it barely missed hers.

I, for one, was sad he was gone. He may have been an ostracized individual, but he fought just as hard as anyone ever did. Past his faults, he was an excellent soldier. He never let us down. He pissed some of us off, but he never let us down. I swear the moment he died, it started snowing even harder. It was so freaky.

The losses were lower than we thought, but some companies took heavy losses. I remeber one company of the 118th had only 37 combat-ready members remaining. All the officers were killed off by sniper fire or other horrible means. They didn't take any prisoners and neither did we.

However, we must collect ourselves. One of the last pocket of the Yuke resistance lies in Myzem. General Collins is sending everyone to surround the city. Now we march once again, hopefully being able to put an end to all this. Jen...just a few more days. Please. Please God, let me make it home...

December 21, 2010-As we move towards Myzem, little resistance is found. We are the on the far edge of the line, with Marines from the 4th Division supporting us on the MLR. One guy told me stories about the Tangra, things I couldn't believe. He told me at the earlier, the Tangra had civilian hostages and POWs and were threatening to shoot if they did not hand over POWs we'd captured, they'd kill them. Their commander oddly enough agreed...but as the two groups advanced they were shot down by those red shirt bastards. Later, it was discovered that the "hostages" were their own comrades in the paratroops! He told me about some prisoners who say that enemy command structure is in chaos. The paratrooper divisions are getting the shaft in terms of supplies; all the best stuff is going to the Tangra, despite the fact they've yet to win a single battle. It seems the Airborne command can do little since they're all outranked. I bet the airborne commander's like ,"With allies like these, who needs enemies?"

I were sort of behind in the news. We haven't had any news reports lately. I have been hearing even more rumors about the Wardog squadron being shot down. I still don't believe it. Tell me the truth or nothing at all is my school of thought. What good does news do us here? We're almost to the city. Some can taste blood. They want to exact revenge on the Tangra and smash any Yukes in our way. I can't worry about vengeance. I'm so close to being able to go home. I have to tread carefully. Take care of myself...ah, that's bullshit. I'm going to inevitably do something crazy because like most of us in the Airborne...we're fucking crazy. We jump out of airplanes! Can you get anymore crazy than that? We're all crazy together. That's why were closer than most infantry divisions. We'll make it out. I'll make it out. No time for complicated thoughts. It's almost over...

December 22, 2010- I sit exhausted surrounded by death and darkness as the icy mist and choking smoke fills the air. The city of Myzem seems to bleed from every pore.

We learned from prisoners that the Ovanji Tangra were ordered to guard the city to the last man. The infantry division that was defending the city was relived and now the red psychos hold the line. If they wanted to fight to the death, they were gonna get it.

We were ordered to simply advance. It made no sense. No artillery support. The air force was tied up with Yuke planes. So we had to run like hell was nipping at our heels. We were raked by everything. Everyone seemed to scatter. I was cut off from my squad, and those behind me were getting cut down. Everyone took cover behind wreckage, mounds, and in some cases, headstones. Roxy and I made it to the buildings; however, we did not know about everyone taking cover until we turned. There was just too much noise. Everyone was pinned down. We had no tank support in our area. We were trapped, and going back would be suicide. At this point, I had to make a decision. All the enemies were concentrated in the buildings. We had to clear it or the guys are just gonna take further damage. We fixed bayonets...

We chucked grenades in the buildings, and ran in shooting, stabbing, slaying our way to the top. We were possessed. We shot up and down stairs, around corners, through doors and walls. 50 dead Yukes later, I radioed in telling everything's clear. I hadn't realized that Captain Jones was trying to get in contact with me the whole time. Everyone surged into the city. There was no time to reflect, we still had a long way to go. Street by street, corner by corner was paid with Osean blood. By the time we got to the city center, we'd lost half our company. Sgt. Andy Lally, was one them. Our good friend, our "tank sniper", killed by a stray bullet that pierced one of the TOW rockets, killing him and Pvt. Pratt. Seville went nuts. He just started shooting like a madman, yelling obscenities every other word. Lt. Sabon tried to calm him down...but he was killed by a sniper not 10 minutes later. He just turned a corner...and another platoon leader was lost.

We approached the city center. It was chaos. They'd had plenty of time to prepare for our attack. But ironically, it was one of them that sealed their fate. They holed up in the courthouse...there was no way in hell I was going through that building. Then suddenly...and enemy plane crashed into it! Thank god! That did it. They all poured out there right into out guns. The regular Yuke soldiers, paratroopers as we later found out, mostly surrendered without a fight throughout the battle. The Tangra were determined to die fighting; we obliged them. For 13 hours, we fought and outfought the best the Yukes had to offer.

It was over when we took the city square. I remember that there was a Yuke flag on top of the courthouse. As the soldiers came out to surrender, my remaining squad went inside with elements of what remained of our company. SSgt Reese had been killed in the fighting outside; it left me platoon sergeant. As we cleared the place out we decided to go up and take down the enemy flag and put ours up. Pvt. Bennings actually had a flag with him. It was strange, carrying one around, but it came in handy here. So myself, Dave, Haley, George Bennings, Asuka, and Peter ran up to the roof. We lowered the Yuke flag in plain view of everyone down there. As the rest of the city slowly fell into our hands, the raising of the flag was a fleeting joy. For 13 hours, we fought and outfought the best the Yukes had to offer. However, we'd lost so many. Our company isn't really a company anymore.

Dave Gordon, my best friend in the world and one of the few guys in the company that hadn't taken a single injury, actually broke down and cried after that. Haley was doing the same. George and Asuka were jumping around all happy. I guess they were happy everything was over. However, that could not shake the humanity we'd lost. They did a good job of hiding it; everyone died a little inside; the soldiers who survived and the few straggling civilians that were trapped here. We all died inside.

December 23, 2010- We finally have an official death toll on our company. We've lost 70 people. I couldn't believe it. I mean dead. The living were still able to fight. It was bizarre. Among the dead are: platoon leaders Sabon and Masterson, Ramierz, Knowles, Reese, Carter,Webber, D'Angelis, Johnny Allen, Marlowe, Murphy, Howard, Lally, Pratt, Brooks, Ronny Johnson, Dalton, Kieran, Milton, Sasby, Callahan, Smith, Gibson, Woolward, Larsas, Vianoff. Among the lucky few to have survived this hell: Lts. D'Mornay, Dovitsio, Harris, Gillory, SSgt Macdowell, Burns, Christenson, Gordon, Miranda Allen, Freddie Johnson, Johannssen, Bennings, Elliot, Lewis, Wong, Yoko, Raji, Morrison, Valentine, Seville, Van Obierk, Hardy, Garcia, and myself.

Dalton and Reese's families lived just down the street from me. I expect Jen and all the others to get a lot of sad letters. It's just idiotic how many have died in this region. I can't believe we're taking this many casualties in this day and age. But as D'Angelis would say, "That's them breaks." The way it is, is the way it is. I wrote that Jen and I know many of the people in the regiment. Many have wives, husbands, kids, parents. Some of them were only kids, barely out of high school. Carter was only 19 years old. SSgts Price and Reese left behind families. Reese had 5 kids.

I saw a rare side of Lt. D'Mornay. I saw her sitting in a foxhole looking at the bodies her good friends Lt. Dutch and Lt. Aora from November company of the 118th PIR . She was just broken. Johnson had lost 2 brothers in this war. The other was in 11th Armored. Seville, Dave and I lost a good friend. Miranda had lost her brother. The father/son Dalton duo (his father was in Delta Company) both died on the same day. Hardy lost several friends and a brother. Morrison and Yoko lost his best friend and mortar team member, Gibson. I cant take much more of this...

Even the non-combatants were not spared. Many were caught in the crossfire of this tragic struggle. Thankfully my own sister-in-law, Alice Kamprand, survived. I have no idea how she's managed to stay alive; especailly since she's the only one of Jen's family that I can stand to listen to. She's the regimental news writer for the "Angel Warriors", a newsletter exclusively for the 117th PIR. She'd written many stories about us. She had an article about each company in the regiment per week. I remember when she covered our company's was the same week we'd secured Sevaspol. It was nice being in the limelight for once. I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw the carnage and sheer destruction. I swear this woman was gonna hurl. There was just so many. She immediately wrote about the destruction she'd seen. "This is what it means to be a soldier," she wrote, "to continue with a stoic outlook on death while in view. In private, those memories one cannot reject. To see a living hell, and still march toward with so few. This is what it means to be a soldier: to them I owe my respect."

December 25, 2010- I received notice of my promotion to Staff Sergeant. A lot of people got promoted. Almost all the original St. Augustine privates are now NCOs. Captain Jones has moved up to battalion staff. Now a new Captain D'Mornay leads the company, with 1st Lieutenant Harris as company XO.

It is official; all resistance in the Rydling pocket has come to an end. The remains of Army Group Telemark has surrendered; 50,000 Yukes of the 10th Airborne Honor Guard, 123rd Airborne Sharpshooter Division, 815th Infantry Division, and 10th Airborne Armored Division. The Tangra Divisions were almost completely wiped out. We were relieved. There were things here neither us nor them would never want to see again. Yesterday, we were ordered to continue northward. It pissed us off. We were in horrible shape, not to mention the rest of the regiment. Some were still shocked by the carnage of this whole thing. Some were going to break like twigs.

The top brass seems to always want fast results, and we've been paying the price for it. Of course, heaven forbid General Collins to put his own divisions on the line!

So off for Telemark we went. My squad was in the lead, or what was left of us. What happened next astounded us. We stumbled upon a small town; white flags were all over the place. They'd just given up, a whole regiment's worth of them. I was approached by an officer, a Captain I think, who commanded the regiment. He must of mistook me for an officer at first. He told me the location of their Division HQ and the some 40,000 in the area who were ready to surrender. I tell Wong to go fetch an officer.

So our company shows up, with elements of 1st and 2nd Battalions. We get led to the enemy HQ, Telemark. This town is at the base of a 2500ft. mountain and it is something out of a fairytale. There were white snowcapped peaks, houses that looked like they were made from gingerbread, castles, old armor suits around, cobblestone streets. This would be a fabulous place to live. If something happens to me that I couldn't be in the airborne anymore, we are moving here. I'm serious. Most of us were put on guard duty, but for those lucky few like me, we got to meet the big man in charge.

Captain D'Mornay was introduced to the Division commander, a Brig. General Jabon Mizzirym and his adjutant Colonel Doten Minov. She knew no Yuktobanian; but I did, so I had to translate. They were good sports about it though. He said he was ordered to high command to burn the city and fall back to Cinigrad. He obviously refused. He said he took take no more of his superiors' foolish orders. There were 250,000 civlian refugees in the area. He had this remorseful attitude, saying he in fact had no control over the Ovanji Tangra. Their commander had taken his own life in order to evade capture. There was no way he was going to destroy his hometown in a fight he could not win. Then he talked about us, saying he knew much about us. He called us the "Razgriz of the ground"; I think it was out of respect from one paratrooper to another. So as he was led out by some of our guys, she turns to us with a smile (Dave, Johannson, van Obierk, Seville and myself), and says "You guys better take what you want before the brass get here." We needed no explanation and wasted no time. There were a lot of priceless artifacts there. They belonged to the Tangra's division commander and his staff. Do I feel guilty about this? No. These ruthless people were not soldiers, just murderers who had no concern for human life, theirs, ours, their allies, their families.

I managed to get my hands on a jewel encrusted sword that belonged to one of those guys. The captain, along with her friends in the quartermasters hid all the loot we and the rest of the battalion had and quietly began shipping it back home. It was a great feeling, almost as if the war was already over.

December 26, 2010- We received the shock of our lives earlier today. We were moving off the line. Not only that, we were going back home! Our fellow troopers in 13th Airborne are going to relieve us after Ocktabursk finally surrendered two days ago. The Yuke Army is coming apart at the seams.

We were transported back to Vijrundi, and it was a long ride. We were torn, Telemark was heaven compared to Sevaspol; however, a ticket home, even if it's for a short time, was also paradise. When our regiment got to Virjundi, we were greeted by the revered General Grambling, our division commander. He gave us long speech about our accomplishments, saying we'd become very famous for our actions in Rydling. Citations for medals were read by our regiment CO, Col. Lavitz. There only about 800 of us there out of the original 1,484 in the regiment. There were 25 Bronze Angel recipients, 13 Silver Angel recipients, 5 Angel Cross recipients(Dave Gordon being one of them), and 7 Seraphim Cross winners: myself and Roxy, Pvt.(now Cpl) Johansson, and Sgt. Rodney Ramsey of Delta company being the only living ones to get the award. They called us "Guardian Angels", the nickname for Seraphim Cross winners in our division. Captain D'Mornay was presented with her actual medal for leading a bayonet charge and wiping out an enemy company on D-Day. She was the first female paratrooper to actually get the award. We were all filled with immense pride, especially when they read out each of our citations for "valor unprecedented and a commitment to duty beyond any soldier."

Mine read something like this, "In a daring act of skill and bravery against an overwhelming and unrelenting enemy, this individual made a difficult decision to engage the enemy regardless of his own life. He and his fellow comrade-in-arms overcame the enemy and saved countless lives." I didn't think much of it; it was just something that had to be done. I became the 16th person in this whole struggle to have this citation. Our regiment also won a Unit Citation for its actions. I was, according to what I've heard, the most decorated paratrooper in our country's history. So far, I had four purple hearts, five medals, two citations. Most people don't even get one. I'd say a quarter of the division that's still alive as at least one medal. I have five. Everyone in this division deserves a medal I think, even the dead. Of course, who ever said a soldier will fight hard for a medal was full of shit. No one came here to get medals.

Now, we're waiting to head home. We were told that we'd probably be redeployed within a week but we'll get 3 days at the very least. It didn't matter. If I just go home and be with the one I love, even if it's just for two hours, the foxholes, the sticky humid weather, the bitter cold, the constant artillery, bullets whizzing by my head, the constant death...it will all be worth it.

December 27, 2010- Once we returned to Sierra City and Fort Augustine, it was like something out of a dream. It was surreal. Stepping off those planes at Black Creek AB, we could feel the sunlight glow of the early morning. We were extremely happy to be home and not in Rydling. It was just an idyllic scene. We were all jumping up and down, hugging and patting each other on the back. Smokes were passed around. I remember Cpl. Cantrell from 2nd Squad actually kissed the ground. However, there were still the lingering thoughts about those who could not be here; those that are lying in warehouses in body bags waiting to be brought home.

So after our euphoria died down a bit, we dumped our gear. Before we left Vijrundi, we were told we'd be participating in a regimental parade throughout Sierra City. Everyone was told ahead of time to be there to welcome us at 1100 hrs. And man… when we marched out there, we were like movie stars. Everyone was there. I mean everyone, at least as far as I could tell. There are 250,000 people in the city, and there were probably 200,000 of them there. There in the buildings, on the street, on the roofs. They had so many signs, welcoming us home. The cheers were deafening. I could see some people's faces though, people who'd known loss. Maybe they were from our company, or maybe Delta or Gamma Company. A little under 1,500 soldiers jumped into Yuktobania. We left with only 819. We'd lost 665 soldiers, 514 were KIA. That was about a 1 in 3 chance of becoming a casualty; and about 75 to 78 chance of actually being killed. We were damn lucky.

However, that thought quickly vanished as we basked in the glory of our success. For those few hours, we were the most important people in Osea. We'd taken everything that was thrown at us and threw it back. We'd been in those uncomfortable trenches in Bastok, endured the constant rain in Sonza, the unbearable heat of Jilachi, and the bitter cold of Rydling; all in 2 months. After the parade, we got a 72-hour pass. To hope for an end to the war in this time would be a pipe dream. I thought, "Thank God!" We can finally go back to our town of Moonwater. Some wanted to go and celebrate; I just wanted to go home to a place where I'm not getting shot at, and to a person that prayed and dreamed about me for nearly 4 months.

Our house is small, but hey, it's a home regardless. I wish I had a picture of her facial expression when she saw me. I had never seen anyone so happy. I hate to see her cry, but this time I didn't try to stop her. Hell, I felt like crying too. I only didn't because my soul seems to have been hardened only just enough to prevent any visible signs of vulnerability. So this is what I've fought so hard for; the chance to be with someone who loved me unconditionally. A person who completely understood everything I stood for. A person who knew what I'd gone through to simply spend a night, much less five minutes in her arms. A person who knew about those who gave their lives so that I could be here and the subsequent trauma it has caused. A person who knows that despite my longing to be here, I would starve, freeze, bleed or die for her or anybody in the paratroops who shared a foxhole with me. So Jen, SSgt Price, Andy, I thank you.

December 29, 2010- I remember writing about "if I had kids". Well, there may no longer an "if"! It's been a wonderful time so far. We'd go to clubs, despite the fact that I cannot dance worth a shit. Everyone was just so appreciative. Well, most. Some people were bitter about the whole war. I wasn't too up to date on military affairs as a whole, but I came here to relax and get away from the frontlines. We went a fancy restaurant, and ate on the house! It was unbelievable. It seems like a aura of peace already.

I read some of Alice's articles in the "Sky Warrior" about the Rydling battles. I had no idea it was a million times worse than we thought. The official casualty count was up towards 36,000-40,000. The human losses were staggering, even for modern times. Approximately 25,000 officers and men of all the branches died there. Our Division alone, about 15,000 strong, had casualty count of 6,000 with about 4,900 dead. The Yukes apparently lost 65,000 men killed, wounded, or captured. They called it "death on a scale unmatched except for the end of the Belkan war". Most of the dead were those freaks in the Ovanji Tangra.

In our town, there is a large memorial for all those killed in action. Every name of every paratrooper since 1950 who has died in combat is there. My grandfather's name is there on Wall 3. He was the CO of E Company of the 117th when it was activated in 1984, and was killed in 1986 in the First Verusian conflict a year I was born. Jen and I, along with Dave and Renee, his fiancée (the air traffic controller from nearby Black Creek Air Base), Alice, and some others visited as they were adding names to the new wall. We didn't stay very long. They printed 4 names and Wong, who was with us, just left saying, "I can't take it anymore..." They were some of his good friends, all replacements like him.

We were told that we'd be back in combat soon, but that thought vanished from my mind. Even as a write this I can finally enjoy the rather simple intimacy of a beautiful woman snoring on my shoulder. I'll never take it for granted again...

However, even now, how do I explain all I've seen to her? There are things I have seen...things that I dare not recall but still reside in my memory. There are some things that would shock even the most iron-stomached person.


	6. The Dream Life

**Part VI: The Dream Life**

_"Us fighting together has made the world one big vacation; a living dream life it is. I couldn't believe it when I met these people. Their leader is a reflection of the world we've now created. It's amazing they also have such dedicated yet crazy people amongst their wings. "-Captain Valentin Horan of the Yuktobanian 703rd Fighter Squadron on Osean 82nd TFS member Captain Serena Gagne two weeks after the battle of Sudentor. Horan was Yuktobania's top ace, and the youngest wing commander ever at age 27. He and his squadron fought constantly against the 82nd and 108th TFS culminating in shooting down Wardog ace Alvin C. Davenport in the November City raid. _

January 1, 2011- The war is over! It's over! When we returned to base, we were sitting around waiting for orders. I thought PT, or back to Yuktobania. Then suddenly, some guys came running in and turned the TV to a news channel. It was a speech from the President. Where the hell had he been!

It's seems the war was not Yuktobania's doing. Another country was pitting the two countries against each other. They also had a weapon that could wipe all half the large cities in either nation. He then called an end to the war and anyone to help stop this weapon and the aggressors. He mentioned something along the lines, "They are flying to the east" or something. I immediately knew of who they spoke, and to me proved the rumors of them being shot down were not true.

Then the brass called a meeting of all the officers, while he told all us enlisted men to prepare for immediate deployment. It was a quick briefing too. Everyone was helping to scramble for takeoff. "Guns and ammo only!" one officer said. Amazingly, in 6 hours give or take the regiment was ready. We were going to Sudentor. D'Mornay gave us a very terse briefing. The air force was going take that super weapon offline and we had to open the doors. Piece of cake. They called it "Operation Venus".

Everyone was jubilant. I remember Dave yelling out as he got into the plane, "Look out Belka! Here we come!" Sgt. Yoko yelled out in that high pitched voice of hers, "It's a good day to die!" I had no intentions of dying, though. The Belkans had no idea what they'd unleashed.

It was about 2000 hrs when we got to Sudentor, I looked out those small windows to see, to my surprise, Yuke and Osean planes flying along side us! Everyone was dumbfounded. I was standing next to Captain D'Mornay, Sgt. Ramsey, and Lt. Gillory, our new platoon leader. I was second on in the stick. We had about 2 hours to get to the control facility before the planes get ready to plunge into the weapon's control system. Suddenly, shaking and vibrations could be felt. AA artillery was attacking us. Damn Belkans knew we were coming. We got the green light and we're out the door. However, we'd been misdropped into a outlying residential area! Luckily, we were able to get mostly organized. The Belkans may have got the jump on us, but we'd learned from our mistakes in Bastok and moved with incredible speed. Those Belkans think they're so tough. We stream rolled the Belkans as we pushed farther and farther into the city.

Air Assault choppers began to land near our position. Army Rangers had showed up. Other paratroopers landed...Yuke paratroopers! It was unbelievable. Afterwards, I heard loud jet engines roar above me, shaking the very ground which I stood. We'd managed to make it the suburbs near the river. Five minutes later, something like a sledgehammer hit me. An artillery blast threw me through a glass window into a house. The two guys I was with were killed as far as I know. My left arm felt dead, yet it felt like 100 knives had been stabbing it. I can barely see. I'm coughing up dust and shit. My uniform has been torn and scarred. I've got glass shards in me; I'm bleeding like a stuck pig. I'm thinking "Oh snap...this is it." Then I hear 3 sets of voices, one male, one female, and a little girl's voice I think. The woman like holding my hand and telling me things like, "You're gonna be okay. Just hang on..." The guy's picking the glass shards out of me. After that, there was darkness. "Am I dead?" I thought. Then I wake up in some hospital in Sudentor, I think. I've been hearing the celebrations inside and out. There was singing, parting, champagne corks going off all day. My right arm is fine; I write this on a small notebook that was on the little table beside me along with a pen. What a godsend. I lay here, bandaged all to hell. No one's been in to see me yet…

January 3, 2011- I called Jen, and tell her I was okay. It was so good to hear her voice. Judging from how messed up I am, its going to be a long haul. They say I'm going to be out in here for at least another month. I've been just lying here, absorbed in the outward ethereal realm of peace; yet in my mind there's a war still going on. At least this place's food is hell of lot better than those MRE's.

I got a visitor though. It was a woman who I'd guessed was about 39 or in her early 40's. When she spoke, it was that same voice I'd heard several nights ago. As I was looking at her, I'm think, "Where do I know you from?" Then it hit me. I recall back in November when I met Captain David Lovecraft. He, during our conversation, he showed me a picture of his parents and his two younger sisters. I had crashed right in his family's house. I had no idea the guy was from here. He never told me where exactly where they lived. I was staring straight at this guy's own mother.

"They dropped you in wrong place didn't they? I hate it when that happens." she said. I was confused. I was under the assumption she was just a normal person, a housewife or a regular career woman. She then showed a picture 15 years old. It was a picture of several people in the 120th Field Artillery Regiment. It turns out Lovecraft's mom was a forward artillery spotter in our own division during the last war! He never told me she was paratrooper. He just said she was in the military for a bit. So I asked her when she got out. She told me she got out in '96 because of a major injury. Then she proceeds to pluck out a glass eye. My jaw hit the floor. Damn...No wonder he idolized her when he was growing up. So we spend the next hour talking about, well everything.

Before she left, I asked her if her rumors that her son was dead were true. She said he was still alive. When I asked about it, she said with a smirk on her face, "If you knew him like I do...you'd know that my son's impossible to kill."

January 7, 2011- I'm starting to dislike this place. The only upside is that at least there aren't any dying people next to me. In dreams however, it's a different story.

Jen finally managed to make it...but she brought two other people. But I'll get to that later. It was so nice finally to see a familiar face. Of course, I wasn't so familiar. She told me that everyone is getting ready for another operation, this time to put Belka out of commission for good. Now my desire to get out of here has increased. Not necessarily to get back into combat, mainly it's because I'm not getting reassigned to another unit!

The way she softly brushed her hand across my skin was almost like when I got back home. She was constantly feeling the scars I had...I swear she must have found them erotic or something.

Then...I couldn't believe it. It was...David Lovecraft and Kei Nagase. Of all people...they shows up. Jen said she ran into them on the way were. She they helped fix her flat tire, which is why she was delayed in getting here. So we exchange pleasantries for some time. I tell him my story about how I got here and about how I met his mother. Then I told him I was a little disappointed how he didn't mention his mother was an "All Angel". He just said it wasn't relevant; it's just like him. He was somewhat terse; very point-centered person. But then, an amazing thing happened. I see some people at the door that showed up almost immediately after I finished my story. It was his parents with Chloe and Sophie, his two sisters. Nagase tapped him on the shoulder. He turns...and both groups look like they've seen a ghost...

What followed was the most compact family reunion I've ever seen; and I wasn't even a part of the family! So everyone spent the whole day trying to catch-up. Of course, me and Jen felt so out of place it was unbelievable. It was only natural to have felt left out. I don't think it was fate, but rather sheer coincidence.

At one awkward point in the whole thing, David's father asks him, "So where's that girl you're always talking about? You never said her name." Nagase visibly blushed within my line of sight. To everyone's surprise except mine, he replied, "Right here." And I swear he laid quite the kiss on her...It was like something out of a movie. It was so touching...one big happy ending...

So afterwards, they wish me well and they all go off to be a family again. I wish my family was that close; David's family was the perfect example of a close, functional, and loving family. Which is ironic; I was expecting David to have one of these "rags to riches" stories.

January 17, 2011- I was well enough for a transfer back to St. Augustine's hospital ward. I also heard that the jump on Belka was called off. I don't know why...I don't care why. That's because I got some very uplifting news that makes me thankful we're not jumping again any time soon.

Jen told me a few days ago that she's pregnant. I was ecstatic. That moment filled me with new purpose. I'd seen so much death, it reverberates in my dreams, yet I've created new life. So we talked about what were gonna name it since we had nothing else to do. I'm so thankful to have her in my life.

She's spent a few days with me, and by the end of the week she looked disheveled. Well, to me, she still was the same woman that came here 5 days ago. Of course when I told her she still looked nice, she got somewhat "playfully upset". She's like "You! I'm a mess!" To which I replied, "You're a mess? I got peppered by a artillery shell and glass shards in 50 places all over my body. I've got so many bandages on me, I'm gonna suffocate. Trust me, you still look relatively wonderful."

When I told Dave the news later, he said jokingly, "I guess you hit a home run didn't ya?" The only thing I could do was laugh it off. Thank goodness for humorous sexually-related baseball euphemisms. It's the simple things I no longer take for granted. The mere thought of a future child makes my day. Now if I can just get out of this damn hospital!

February 29, 2011- Last week, I was finally able to walk again. They gave me light-duty papers and I've been taking it easy.

Lately, its just been the same routine day in day out. Well, not if you count the war crimes trials, deactivation of the 119th regiment, and the presentation of several campaign medals. Several Osean and Yuktobanian officers high and low have been brought up on charges of conspiracy, treason, etc. They're not telling the public anything as usual. The proceedings have been going on for several weeks. The 119th was deactivated; its rosters reinforced our own. It's not like they were brand new, they'd seen plenty of combat before. Although they were lucky, they had the least casualty count of any of the regiments in our division.

Also, our division, as well as the whole army is receiving the campaign medal; however, this did not make a whole lot of sense to me since we didn't even to be there! However, I accept it as a tribute to our fallen comrades. Several people of our Division including myself were presented with the Red Crest, a Yuke medal for valor from Brigadier General General Mizzirym. I felt good about it, then again I felt that I didn't need any extra hardware.

However, the war has taken its toll. Jen and I were walking down the street one day when I saw a guy with metal attachments where his arms would be. I recognized that guy, Cpl. Tanas from A company. I also ran into Pvt. Branch who'd been a POW since November 10 or so. He sounded fine, but something told me he wasn't quite alright. He seemed jittery, nervous. That does not surprise me, though.

Up until now, I haven't heard anything from those two Air Force lovebirds. Yesterday, however I received a letter from them. Apparently, they call themselves "Charlie and Penny Mallory". I mean, I see the need to keep a low profile, but why would they change their names? It's a little excessive.  
March 23, 2011- As far as our unborn child is concerned, it's doing fine...I don't know about myself though. I don't know what's been happening to me. Well, I have a fair idea, but...

At the beginning of the month, I had the worst nightmare. It was something straight out of Hell itself. I don't even remember what it was about. Jen was shaking me violently trying to wake me up. I jolted up. My skin was tad colder than usual; my skin was a little pale. I was sweating and shaking. I don't know what happened. They've been happening more often.

I went to Dave and Renee's wedding as the best man, last week. During the reception, I went to pick up the knife was using...and suddenly...I don't know. I went back to Myzem, in that building with all those Yukes. I remember I stabbed one guy, and I looked over and saw this girl hiding in a closet with a look of horror on her face. Then another guy runs in...I stick him...and stabbed him over, and over, and over. I think I did it twelve times. Then I saw her face, she couldn't have been more than 14. Her was filled with repulsion...straining not to be sick. I just ran out of there and saw Roxy standing over another body, in the process of stabbing another guy in the face...then Dave comes, telling me "Yo..yo, you alright? Hey!"

I just zoned out. I put the knife down...and sort of stumbled outside. Everyone's getting concerned about me. Now I got a appointment with an Army psychologist tomorrow. What's happening to me...?

April 17, 2011- These sessions have been helpful. I was told I had post-traumatic stress disorder, which wasn't an uncommon thing. It was basically the sudden shock of being immediately thrown into combat then immediately having to readjust to normality. I wasn't the only one who had it. A lot of guys were just "out of it". They, like me, tried so hard to block those horrible images out of their minds that it built up until we just...snapped. Two people had killed themselves...and that's when I knew why everyone was so worried. Jen's brother Rafe, of a very obnoxious sort, said this after a conversation discussing my therapy one day: "Oh stop complaining! You were only over there two months!" To which I said, "Why don't you try going for a whole day getting shot at from every which way possible with every weapon imaginable. Now do that every day for about two months and I dare you to say that to my face again!" What a prick. How can anyone have the balls to say that to someone who has no choice but to kill the enemy when our superiors tell us too! I just ripped on the guy. I had never been so offended in my life.

Day to day life has just been the usual though. Everything's just been relaxed even though the war's been over for three months.

I still have residual bad trips down memory lane, however it's good to know I have plenty of support. Jen's gregarious attitude about the pregnancy is nothing short of amazing. It's like the anticipation's eating away at her. To be honest, it's affected me as well. We still haven't decided on a name yet, but we made a deal. Since neither of us want to know the child's gender before it's born, we have a gamble going. Strangely enough, I'm guessing it's a girl, she's guessing it's a boy. Who ever guesses it correctly gets to name him or her. It sound silly, but it's just a small amount of fun between the two of us; a reward for our dedication and sheer will.

Over the last few weeks, I've been getting numerous letters from David and K...er..."Charlie" and "Penny". They've been doing well, living in a nice, quiet undisclosed area. That doesn't surprise me though. They probably just wanted to get away from it all. So they get peace and obscurity as a reward for all those crazy things in the air. They're planning an early June/late May wedding on a date, time, and place to be specified. It's gonna be quite a small wedding. I can only hope that the reception goes smoother than at our wedding. I don't think Nagase's mother is gonna get drunk at the reception and start a fight with her own family. Though I will admit it was pretty funny.

January 15, 2013- The world is still at peace. So I write this as my last entry hoping that another war will not rear its ugly head. My daughter Appolonia, named after my late mother, or "Apple" as I call her breathes a fresh air into me every time I see her. She looks just like Jennifer with that rosy skin hue they both have. She has my eyes though. She's a wonderful kid, full of life and joy. I've been made a 1st Sergeant since last year and taken command of the platoon. I received my Seraphim Cross 4 months ago presented by President Harling himself. I was quite a memorable moment.

Most of my friends have all suffered as a result of this war. Haley botched a suicide attempt…twice. She was discharged from the company for psychological reasons. She didn't want to leave the people she fought and nearly died with, but she couldn't shake the memories of what she'd experienced. She'd been through enough, as everyone else has. Sadly, she finally ended her life in late 2011 with a bullet in the head. Dave's wife Renee had a miscarriage. He hasn't been the same since, but he still keeps in good sprits. He still remains uninjured; about the baby he said, "We'll try again, but nothing will replace him". Roxy went into a vegetative state after a brutal car accident. She's recovered though, and she has not driven a car since. Jon and Serena, who they were calling the most successful female pilot in history, had a child as well. Unfortunately, 3 months ago, Serena was in a horrible plane accident that ripped off her left arm and destroyed her left eye. She survived, but she's never gonna be able to fly again. Charlie also suffered a destroyed eye in a training accident and was discharged. He decided to get in contact with some girl he met in Yuktobania. They're married now. Charlie is now teaching at the Telemark Airborne Combat School. Jen and I visited them last June. Telemark's even more beautiful in summer time. Miranda came back several weeks after the war ended. About 2 months ago, she told me and Dave about this guy she was seeing. What was his name...Grimm or something? Van Obierk has learned how to play a violin...somewhat. He still seems to have no concept of tone or pitch.

Charlie and Penny write me every month, still refusing to tell me where they live. They have twins, little Catherine and Charlie Jr. They've visited us every now and then.

Charlie is an airplane mechanic now, which doesn't surprise me. Penny is writes for a small city newspaper column. Charlie's sister Chloe has joined the paratroops and is in my platoon. Sgt. Johannson runs the squad now. They've been very friendly. After all they were born in the same city and lived three blocks from each other.

One question fills my mind. Do I tell little "Apple" about my experiences? I probably will. It is my fondest wish that her generation won't be starting any more pointless wars.

The memories of war, while not as traumatic as they were before, still reside in my mind. There is not a day that goes by I don't think of the people that weren't so lucky. Every year on December 22, my family and I pay a visit to that memorial in town, where the names of every single paratrooper in the 79th who died in Rydling and every other theatre of war are listed. We give up our day so they won't be alone…and will know their sacrifice meant something.

The End.


End file.
